Introduction

The Internal Revenue Bulletin is the authoritative instrument of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for announcing official rulings and procedures of the Internal Revenue Service and for publishing Treasury Decisions, Executive Orders, Tax Conventions, legislation, court decisions, and other items of general interest.

It is the policy of the Service to publish in the Bulletin all substantive rulings necessary to promote a uniform application of the tax laws, including all rulings that supersede, revoke, modify, or amend any of those previously published in the Bulletin. All published rulings apply retroactively unless otherwise indicated. Procedures relating solely to matters of internal management are not published; however, statements of internal practices and procedures that affect the rights and duties of taxpayers are published.

Revenue Rulings represent the conclusions of the Service on the application of the law to the entire state of facts involved. In those that are based on positions taken in rulings to taxpayers or technical advice to Service field offices, identifying details and confidential information are deleted to comply with statutory requirements.

Rulings and procedures reported in the Bulletin do not have the force and effect of Treasury Department Regulations, but they may be used as precedents. Unpublished rulings will not be relied on, used, or cited as precedents by Service personnel in the disposition of other cases. In applying published rulings and procedures, the effect of subsequent legislation, regulations, court

The contents of this publication are not copyrighted and may be reprinted freely; a citation of the Cumulative Bulletin as the source would be appropriate.

decisions, rulings, and procedures must be considered, and Service personnel and others concerned are cautioned against reaching the same conclusions in other cases unless the facts and circumstances are substantially the same.

The regulations, rulings, decisions, procedures, Public Laws, etc., published in the weekly Internal Revenue Bulletins 1974-26 through 1974-52 have been consolidated and are published in Internal Revenue Cumulative Bulletin 1974-2.

Public Law 93-406 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and related Committee Reports, which were not published in a weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin, are published in Cumulative Bulletin 1974-3.

Cumulative Bulletin 1974-3 Supplement contains additional Committee Reports and excerpts from the Congressional Record relating to Public Law 93-406.

The Bulletin Index-Digest System, a research and reference service supplementing the Bulletin, may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents on a subscription basis. It consists of four Services: Service No. 1, Income Tax; Service No. 2, Estate and Gift Taxes; Service No. 3, Employment Taxes; Service No. 4, Excise Taxes. Each Service consists of a basic volume and a cumulative supplement that provide (1) finding lists of items published in the Bulletin, (2) digests of Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, and other published items, and (3) topical indexes of Public Laws, Treasury Decisions, and Tax Conventions.