About

Law Practice Employment

Primary Practice Area: Federal, state and local taxation. Other practice areas: corporate, probate, real estate law, and representation before state and municipal boards and agencies.

Politi Law Group
Waltham, MA
2020 — present

Engel & Schultz, LLP
Boston, MA
2001 – January 2020

  • E. Joel Peterson & others v. Commissioner of Revenue (2004), Supreme Judicial Court, 441 Mass. 420, appeal after remand, 444 Mass. 128 (Co-Counsel)
  • Fortifiber Corporation v. Board of Assessors of the City of Attleboro, 2014 Appellate Tax Board Adv. Sh. 559
  • Timothy C. Jones v. Commission of Revenue, 2003 Appellate Tax Board Adv. Sh. 627
  • Sydney J. Marilyn Rosenthal v. Commissioner of Revenue, 22 Mass. App. Tax. Bd. Rep. 234 (1997)
  • Prudential Ins. Co. of America v. Commissioner of Revenue (1999) 429 Mass. 560 (Co-Counsel)
  • O’Toole v. Commissioner of Revenue, 2000 Appellate Tax Board Adv. Sh. 844

State Government Service

Former Chief Counsel
Massachusetts Department of Revenue

Reported directly to the Commissioner of Revenue with direct supervisory and management responsibility for all activities of the Legal Bureau. In the current Department of Revenue organizational structure this position is akin to the position of Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel.

Former Counsel, Massachusetts
Joint Legislative Committee on Taxation (now the Revenue Committee)

This experience involved drafting, researching and rendering legal opinions on all legislation affecting both state and local tax laws.

Other Professional Employment

Adjunct Professor
Bentley University Graduate School of Law, Taxation
and Financial Planning
Waltham, MA
January 1977 – 2023

Graduate Course: State and Local Taxation

Former General Counsel
Massachusetts Association of Public Accountants, now known as the Massachusetts Association of Accountants

Education

LL.M (Master of Laws) in Taxation
Boston University Graduate School of Law

J.D. (Juris Doctor of Laws)
Boston University Law School

University of Massachusetts
A.B. cum laude in Economics
(Student Senate President)

Academic College Honors:

Class Valedictorian
Phi Beta Kappa Award
Department Prize for Distinction in Economics
Senior Honors Award

Professional Memberships (Representative)

  • U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court, Massachusetts Bar

  • Former Member, Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue’s Practitioner Liaison Committee

  • Former Chairman, American Bar Association Committee on Taxes and Revenue

  • Member, Massachusetts Bar Association

  • Author/Contributing Editor, Guidebooks to Massachusetts Taxes, CCH, 2003 – 2019
  • Contributing Author, Massachusetts Taxation and DOR Practice – A Guide To Collections, Audits, Abatements, and Appeals, a publication of MCLE, 2018, 2012, 2004, 1998, and 1988 Editions
  • Author, State Tax Responses to Declining Tax Revenues and Limited Tax Resources – A Massachusetts Perspective 2001-2010, Journal of State Taxation, Vol. 29, No. 1 (2010)
  • Editor, 1991 – Present, Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board Reporter, Matthew Bender Lexis Nexis
  • Member, Editorial Board, Journal of State Taxation 1982 – 2018
  • Co-Author, Worldwide Unitary Taxation in Massachusetts, Journal of State Taxation, Vol. 3, No. 1, p. 4 (1984)
  • Co-Author, Chapter 593: A New Massachusetts Tax Bill, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, February 17, 1986, reprinted Probate Law Section News, MBA, June, 1986
  • Co-Author, Sales Taxation of Computer Software and Hardware — A Massachusetts Perspective, Journal of State Taxation, Vol. 1, No. 4
  • Co-Author, Massachusetts Taxation: The Law and The Lore, Little, Brown and Company, (1982)
  • Author, State Tax Abatement and Administrative Appeal Procedure, Vol. 65, No. 6, Massachusetts Law Review, Page 204
  • Co-Editor, Massachusetts Corporate Tax Manual, a publication of the Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Co-Author, Chapter 599: The Tax Reform Act Comes to Massachusetts, Vol. 21, No. 11, Boston Bar Journal, page 5. Reprinted in Vol. 51, No.6, Massachusetts CPA Review, Page 11
  • Co-Author, A Year In Massachusetts Taxation, Vol. 6, No. 4, Massachusetts Law Quarterly, Page 377
  • Author, Massachusetts Enacts Dramatic Revisions of Nexus Rules and Definition of Financial Institutions, 96 Committee On State Taxation (COST) Report 27 (1996)
  • Associate Editor, Massachusetts Law Review, 1980 – 1983
  • Co-author, Recent Developments in State and Local Taxation, The Urban Lawyer, The National Quarterly on Local Government Law, Volume 19 Number 4, Fall 1987

  • Professional Presentation, June 5, 2014, State Tax Nexus and Changing Domicile for State Income and Death Tax Purposes, Massachusetts Association of Accountants
  • Professional Presentation, May 21, 2013, State Tax Nexus, Massachusetts Association of Accountants
  • Professional Presentation, June 5, 2012, Changing Domicile for State Income & Death Tax Purposes, Massachusetts Association of Accountants
  • Professional Presentation, September 30, 2010, Massachusetts DOR Collections: Installment Agreements & Offers in Compromise, Massachusetts Association of Accountants
  • Professional Presentation, June 8, 2010, Massachusetts Tax Update, Massachusetts Association of Accountants
  • Luncheon Speaker, 2007, 44th Annual Combined Institute on Federal and State Taxation
  • Panelist, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002 Annual Combined Institute on Federal and State Taxation
  • Massachusetts Tax Presentations to the State Tax Committee on the Massachusetts CPA Society, 2004 and 2005
  • Professional All-Day Presentations, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004, Planning to Reduce Massachusetts Taxation, Boston Tax Institute, Waltham, MA
  • Professional All-Day Presentations, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004, Multi-State Taxation (A Massachusetts Perspective) Boston Tax Institute, Waltham, MA
  • Professional All-Day Presentations, 2006 and 2004, Massachusetts Sales and Use Tax, Boston Tax Institute, Waltham, MA
  • Professional Half-Day Presentation, 2004, Massachusetts State Tax Update, Massachusetts Association of Public Accountants, Waltham, MA
  • Panelist, 2003, Massachusetts Tax Litigation, Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants
  • Speaker, Massachusetts Assessors’ Association, “Appeals From Assessments of Cable Television Equipment – A Litigation Perspective”
  • Co-Keynote Speaker (with Professor Walter Hellerstein), Annual Meeting (1998), Northeastern State Tax Officials Association, Newport, RI
  • Speaker (Annually 1984-2003), Annual State Tax Night, hosted by Massachusetts Association of Public Accountants
  • Panelist, 1993, Massachusetts Tax Appeals and Appellate Tax Board Litigation, Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Speaker, National Association of Accountants, “Massachusetts Taxation”
  • Speaker, New York Chapter, Tax Executive Institute (TEI)
  • Recipient, 21st Century Club Award, presented by the Massachusetts Bar Association for distinguished public speaking
  • Discussion Leader, First Annual Construction Industry Conference, Massachusetts Society of CPAs Construction Committee
  • Speaker, Route 128 Tax Roundtable
  • Luncheon Speaker, Western New England College Annual Tax Seminar for Practitioners
  • Speaker, Eastern Regional Association of Sales Tax Administrators Conference, “Tax Disclosure” (Prince Edward Island)
  • Speaker, Massachusetts Bar Association, Midyear Meeting, “Manufacturing: Developments in Massachusetts Taxation”
  • Speaker, Eastern Regional Association of Sales Tax Administrators Conference, “Review of Significant Court Decisions” (New York)
  • Speaker, Western New England College, Eighteenth Annual Federal and State Taxation Institute, “Recent Developments in Court Decisions”
  • Speaker, Bentley College, Annual State Tax Forums, “Multi-State Tax Planning Techniques”, Massachusetts Corporate Sales Allocation Factor: Compliance and Planning”, “Recent Case Law Developments”, and other state tax topics.
  • Speaker, Associated Building Contractors (ABC)
  • Speaker, Printing Industries of New England (PINE)
  • Chairman and Speaker, “A Two Day Briefing on State and Local Taxation”, sponsored by the Bentley College Graduate School and its Graduate Program in Taxation.
  • Instructor, Massachusetts Society of CPA’s, “Planning to Reduce Massachusetts Taxation
  • Speaker, Bentley College National Institute on Federal Taxation
  • Panelist, Suffolk University Law School, Seminar, “Careers in Tax Law”
  • Speaker, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, All Day Seminar, “Minimizing the Corporate Interstate Tax Burden
  • Panelist, 1992, State Tax Litigation Before the Appellate Tax Board, Massachusetts Bar Association

Lexington Massachusetts Town Government

  • Member, Lexington Legal Services Committee, Appointed by the Lexington Board of Selectmen, 2005-2006. Charge: To recommend a municipal legal service model for the Town
  • Chairman (1983-1984) and Member (1981-1984), Board of Selectmen
  • Chairman (1990-2000) and Member (1985-2000), Lexington Historic Districts Commission
  • Trustee, Cary Memorial Library, 1981-1984
  • Former Member, Lexington Education Foundation
  • Elected Member, Lexington Town Meeting, 1970-1981 Non-elected Member, 1981-1984
  • Former Town of Lexington Representative to the MBTA Advisory Board
  • Member, Tax Policy Committee, 1980-1981
  • Co-Author, Lexington Conflict of Interest Code
  • Co-Editor, Revised By-Laws of the Town of Lexington, 1974
  • Vice-Chairman, Lexington Bicentennial Committee, 1972-1976
  •  Member, Committee to Appoint Members of Boards, Comptroller and Town Counsel, 1971-1972
  • Member, Cary Lectures Committee, 1972-1974
  • Former Chairman Lexington Youth Commission

Other

  • Former President, Lexington Historical Society

Community Youth Activities

  • Vice President, Lexington Little League, Inc., 1981-1984
  • President, Replace, Inc.
    Lexington Youth and Family Counseling Center, 1977-1979
    Replace Board of Directors, 1972-1979
  • Chairman, Lexington Youth Advisory Commission, 1972-1973
  • Member, Board of Directors (Legal Chairman) Amigos de las Americas, 1978-1980
    This non-profit organization motivates, trains and fields Greater Boston area youth to nine Latin American countries during the summer to administer a variety of paramedical services.

State & Federal Taxation

Mr. Politi has considerable federal and state tax experience, having represented hundreds of businesses and individuals, including multi-state and multi-national corporations.

Property Tax

Mr. Politi has successfully negotiated and litigated property tax disputes for a broad spectrum of business taxpayers. Mr. Politi is former Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Lexington MA and he teaches State and Local Taxation at the bentley University Gaduate School of Taxation.

Sales Tax

Mr. Politi assists businesses, including on-line retailers, with their sales and use tax responsibilities.

Tax Crimes

Mr. Politi has successfully represented many businesses and individuals who were the subject of criminal tax investigations.

Voluntary Tax Disclosures

Mr.Politi regularly represents businesses and individuals who are contemplating making a voluntary disclosure of their failure to file tax returns or pay tax.

Tax Legislation

As former Counsel to the Massachusetts Joint Legislative Committee on Taxation (now the Revenue Committee), Mr. Politi understands how tax laws are written and how they should be interpreted and enforced.

Florida Residents

Mr. Politi meets regularly and throughout the year with new and current clients in the Palm Beaches of Florida to discuss Massachusetts business, real estate, tax (including change of domicile), and family law matters.