R. Scott Jones, Esq.
Senior Partner
SERVICES
- International Individual Income & Estate Tax Planning & Advisory
- Individual Tax Advocacy and Related Services
- International Individual Income & Estate Tax Compliance
R. Scott Jones, Esq. has spent over 30 years in accounting and law practice in the ever-changing area of individual international income and estate taxation. He is a founding partner of Goldstein Jones LLP, a law firm focused on the full spectrum of U.S. Federal and New York State Tax matters.
During his career, Scott has advised on and implemented tax planning arrangements as lead representative for both individual and corporate clients engaged in the international arena, including multiple Fortune 500 companies. He has successfully led the representation of numerous clients in their negotiated settlements with Federal and NY State tax authorities, including in the context of multiple International Voluntary Disclosure, and has extensive knowledge of the tax compliance and disclosure arenas.
Scott brings a powerful combination of legal and tax accounting expertise as a result of his legal training, extensive experience with one of the world's largest tax accounting practices and in independent legal practice.
Scott is a dual U.S./U.K. Citizen and a New York Attorney. As a British expatriate himself, he is committed to helping his clients make sense of the complexity of rules and regulations affecting individuals and businesses operating cross-border. His personal focus is on U.S. income, capital gains and estate tax matters and he has delivered numerous articles and presentations under the auspices of a variety of organizations including KPMG LLP, ECA International, New York State Bar Association, Cornell University, British-American Business, Inc., Corcoran and Global HR.
Areas of specialty including advice, representation and the provision of tax compliance services include the following:
On a number of occasions, Scott has been a guest on "The Expat Show" on ABC's WTBQ1110AM radio NY/NJ and the world wide web at
www.theexpatshow.com.
Education
- Bachelor of Laws with Honours, University of Warwick, UK, 1988
- Association of Taxation Technicians Examination, UK, 1990
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- New York State, 1997
- United States Tax Court
- United States District Court, Southern District of New York
- United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
Professional & Bar Association Memberships
- American Bar Association
Member Since: 1998
- New York State Bar Association
Member Since: 1998
- Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners
Member Since: 2008
- British-American Business, Inc.
Member Since: 2006
Articles, Press & Speeches "U.S. Gift & Estate Taxation for Non-U.S. Nationals — Tax Traps for the Unwary", KPMG LLP's "The Expatriate Administrator", Autumn 2004, Volume 4
"Thinking of Letters of Assignment and Inter-Entity Agreements as Barriers to Exposure", HR & Corporate Relocation News (www.bound4.com) 2004
Co-Presenter: "Global Wealth: Managing Your Investments and Tax Exposure", British-American Business Inc. March, 2004 (sponsored by KPMG LLP & Merrill Lynch)
Co-Presenter: "Immigration and Expatriate Tax Update — decoding new regulations and avoiding existing traps", British-American Business Inc. March, 2005 (sponsored by KPMG LLP & Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy)
Co-Presenter: "Perils & Perks of Assignments: Expat. and Secondment Agreements, Repatriation and More", New York State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section, Fall Conference, September 2007.
Co-Presenter "As The World Turns: Perspectives on International Labor and Employment Law", New York State Bar Association/Cornell University, March 2008
Co-Presenter "Representing Multinational Employees: Special Issues & Considerations", National Employment Lawyers Association 2008 Annual Convention, June 2008, Atlanta, Georgia
"
Foreign Nationals in the U.S. Real Estate Market – Know Your Ground", February 2009
Selected Accomplishments - Represent multiple post-mortem international estates with U.S. assets in providing appropriate tax technical and legal advice, including on U.S. Estate Tax Treaty utilization and specific asset release procedures. Have secured the expeditious release, in many cases, of U.S. assets to beneficiaries and the closure of estate tax matters presented before the Internal Revenue Service.
- Assist multiple international clients with estate planning strategies designed to mitigate/eliminate estate tax exposure, which have to date resulted in many millions of dollars in potential estate tax savings.
- Successfully implemented international tax planning for an individual executive resulting in federal and state income tax savings of $3,000,000.
- Acted as tax counsel to a major organization in the development of the international assignment architecture for a corporate global mobility program of significant scale. Included assistance with the development of letters of assignment, international tax policy methodology, global tax cost mitigation and accrual, and international payroll reporting advice.
- Represented the Chief Financial Officer of a Fortune 50 company in settlement of a state tax audit resulting in a tax saving exceeding $1,000,000.
- Represented Senior Executive subject to investigation by the State Criminal Investigations Unit. The case resulted in a successful civil penalty conclusion and averted prosecution for the client.
- Represented a business executive in amending (and successfully defending upon audit) incorrect tax returns prepared by former service provider, thereby generating refunds of $500,000.
- Successfully acted as independent counsel for a Chief Operating Officer in the identification, review and correction of incorrect payroll reporting by his employer, the personal tax impact of which exceeded $2 million.
- Negotiated the removal of a $50,000 tax penalty assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on an individual client.
- Successfully negotiated multiple initial assignment and termination agreements from an international tax exposure/protection perspective (often in conjunction with employment counsel).
- Successfully represented numerous clients in voluntary compliance and disclosure initiatives with respect to prior year tax and related filings.
- Current advisor to a significant number of board level executives and other public figures on individual tax compliance and planning issues.