Richard L. Jones

State & Local Tax

Tax

Tax Controversies & Litigation

Tax Planning for Business Owners & Investors

Tax Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals

Rich is the director of Sullivan’s Tax Department. He concentrates on state 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, including a string of recent victories in landmark Massachusetts tax cases. In 2021 he argued and prevailed before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Oracle v. Commissioner of Revenue, which affirmed the right of businesses to apportion sales tax on software used in multiple states. 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. In 2023, Rich notched another win before Massachusetts’ highest court in Reagan v. Commissioner of Revenue, reversing the state’s policy of assessing sellers of exempt urban redevelopment projects; the case marked an important victory for taxpayers as well as urban renewal and affordable housing. See also Akamai Technologies v. COR (ATB, 2021; manufacturing corporation benefits for CDN software provider); VAS Holdings, Inc. v. COR (SJC, 2022 (representing amicus curie); Mass. lacked authority to tax out-of-state corporation – adopting position first raised in our amicus brief).

In 2024 and 2026, Rich was named a "Go To" Tax Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. In 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 six years and in August 2020, 2022 and 2023 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).

Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel, 2022

Law 360's Tax Authority State & Local Advisory Board, 2020, 2021, 2023

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

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

Boston University School of Law

LL.M. - Taxation

Boston University School of Law

J.D.

Clark University

B.A., cum laude

"Go To" Tax Lawyer (2024, 2026)

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

Finalist, Litigator of the Year

The American Lawyer

2022

Top Lawyer, Tax Law (2021-2025)

Boston Magazine

International Tax Review's World Tax Guide (2013-2014, 2016-2026)

Top 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyer

Lawdragon

2025

Tax MVP

Law360

2021