Quote about Rich Jones from The Legal 500 USRich is the leader of Sullivan’s Tax Group. He concentrates on state tax and local tax (SALT) litigation and transactional planning involving corporate, personal income and sales/use tax matters. He has more than two decades of experience before the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board, the Supreme Judicial Court, various state Departments of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service on a range of issues, including corporate nexus, domicile, apportionment, step transaction, and unitary reporting. He has served clients across sectors including technology, financial services, retail, media, manufacturing, telecommunications, e-commerce, software and construction.

Rich has developed a strong record in representing clients in SALT controversies over the years. Most recently, he argued and prevailed before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a precedent-setting case, Oracle v. Commissioner of Revenue, which affirmed the right of businesses to apportion sales tax on software used in multiple states. As noted by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the 2021 case had “[t]he eyes of tax practitioners across the country … watching.” The Oracle decision was named a top SALT case of 2021 by Law360 and a Top Indirect Tax Dispute Worldwide for Q2 2021 by International Tax Review.

Client quote about Rich Jones from Chambers USAIn 2022, Rich was selected as a finalist for Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer. In 2021, the editors of Law360 selected Rich as Tax MVP and published a profile story on his career and recent achievements. In 2021, Rich was also named a "Lawyer of the Year" by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Rich has been recognized by International Tax Review’s Tax Controversy Leaders’ Guide for the past five years and in August 2020 and August 2022 was shortlisted by ITR Americas for the North America Indirect Tax Practice Leader of the Year. He has been recognized and ranked by The Legal 500 U.S., Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America©.

Rich formerly taught State and Local Taxation as an adjunct professor at Northeastern University, D’Amore-McKim Graduate School, MS in Taxation Program. He is active with the American Bar Association’s Tax Section, and co-chairs the SALT Subcommittee on Income & Net Worth. He previously served as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Tax Section and its State Tax Committee.

Rich is co-author of “Taxation,” Vols. 4 - 4C of Thomson Reuters’ Massachusetts Practice Series and frequently writes and speaks at seminars on SALT topics. He has been quoted on tax matters in numerous publications, including Tax Notes, Bloomberg, Law360, The Boston Globe and Boston Herald.

Rich has also appeared as a guest on National Public Radio (NPR) programs to discuss SALT issues, including: SCOTUS Says States Can Collect Sales Tax From Online Retailers, Radio Boston with Meghna Chakrabarti (2018); Massachusetts Tries Something New To Claim Taxes From Online Sales, All Things Considered (2017); and Mass. Online Sales Tax Raises Legal Questions, Radio Boston (2017).

Representative Client Work

  • Prevailed at trial in a significant Massachusetts tax litigation involving the treatment and taxation of the cloud computing industry
  • Served pro bono as special tax counsel in two concerted, multi plaintiff constitutional challenges, which paved the way for the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2013 decision invalidating Section 3 of the federal “Defense of Marriage Act”
  • Prevailed in landmark case before Massachusetts’ highest court, which enabled start-up companies to qualify for tax benefits available to manufacturers
  • Achieved an $8.5 million tax refund for a leading health insurance company following litigation

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Education

  • LL.M., Taxation, Boston University School of Law
  • J.D., Boston University School of Law, Edward F. Hennessey Scholar
  • B.A., cum laude, Clark University

Community Engagement

  • Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel, 2022
  • Law 360's Tax Authority State & Local Advisory Board, 2020, 2021
  • American Bar Association
    • Co-chair, Subcommittee on Income & Net Worth Tax, (2017-present)
    • Executive Committee (2013 - present)
  • Boston Bar Association
    • Tax Section Steering Committee (2009 - present)
    • Past Co-chair, Tax Section
    • Past Co-chair, State and Local Tax Committee
  • Former Adjunct Professor, State and Local Taxation, Northeastern University, D'Amore-McKim Graduate School

Awards & Honors

  • The Tax Lawyers, Exclusively Recommended Advisor in Massachusetts (11/22-11/23)
  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Lawyer of the Year (2021)
  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyers, Tax Law (2021, 2022)
  • Law360’s 2021 Tax MVP
  • Tax Controversy Leaders' Guide, International Tax Review (2013-2014, 2016-2023)
  • Pro Bono Attorney Award, Boston University School of Law's Public Interest Project (2013)
  • The Legal 500 U.S. (2018-2022)
  • Best Lawyers in America® (2013-2023)
  • Chambers USA, Ranked in Tax (Massachusetts) (2010-2015)
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2012, 2014-2022)
  • "Rising Star," Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2006-2009)

Seminars & Presentations

Practices

Industries

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