Jon B Sparkman

Practice Areas

I am driven by the goal of helping people fulfill their dreams and protect their hard-earned assets. My background as a CPA lends itself well to my legal work with non-profit organizations and businesses, as economics and taxes affect every industry sector and impact many decisions that an organization faces.

In particular, I enjoy working with non-profit organizations to fulfill their charitable missions by assisting them in their organizational and internal governance, as well as their dealings with constituents and regulatory agencies. I regularly work with tax exempt entities in the education, healthcare, religious, developmental disability, social services, and arts sectors.

I also enjoy counseling business clients to help them grow while managing risks. Many of those risks have tax aspects and result in my helping them with tax planning and advising them on strategies to accomplish their goals in the most tax efficient way. Sometimes clients need help with an audit by the by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration which administers New Hampshire’s unique tax system, a topic on which I regularly present continuing education programs for CPAs.

For many years I have been privileged to assist clients in the development of safe and affordable housing projects in New England, advising them on the federal low-income housing tax credit and the federal historic tax credit from both the developer's and the investor's perspectives. I love helping clients reduce their tax burdens while providing affordable housing to our communities.

Personal

After more than 30 years of living in New Hampshire, I consider myself to be a New Englander. But my family roots are in the mid-west, where my great grandfather began a farm and built a big white barn. In the 1970s, when my grandfather passed away, the estate tax laws were so severe that we nearly lost the farm in order to pay the taxes. As a young boy, the possibility of losing our family’s farm sparked a desire in me to help people protect what is important to them. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, and becoming a lawyer seemed the best way to accomplish that goal.

My wife and I are members of Grace Bible Church in Dracut, Massachusetts, where I serve as an elder. The church has been a centerpiece of our personal and family lives and we are grateful to have been able to raise our four children there.

The big white barn that my great grandfather built stood for over 100 years, however, the continual wind blowing on the plains eventually brought it down.  The barn may be gone, but the impact that it made on me lives on.

Work Highlights

Representation of a charitable educational institution in it re-aligning its mission due to severe economic displacement resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representation of a cooperative wholesaler in its governance and organizational matters.

Representation of a charitable social service organization in affiliation with a service provider in reaction to changing regulations.

Representation of taxpayers under audit by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration challenging the tax impact of the sale of their business and liquidation of proceeds.

Professional Memberships

Bar Admissions:

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, Director, 2018-2023

New Hampshire Bar Association, former chair, Tax Section

New Hampshire Society of Certified Public Accountants, Board of Directors, 2004-2007; member, Tax Committee

Publications

"FFCRA Establishes New Paid Sick Leave & Family Leave Rights and Employer’s Right to Receive Tax Credit," Devine Millimet E-Alert, March 18, 2020

"2015 Summary of New Hampshire Taxes," July 29, 2015

"Compensation conundrum continues," New Hampshire Business Review, August 9, 2013

"Real Estate Holding Companies Beware," Business NH Magazine, June 2004

Education

Awards