Linden (Lin) C. Smith

Lin Smith is a Managing Director in the Washington National Tax Services office of PwC where he leads the Statistics and Tax Sampling (STATS) Group.  STATS develops and uses statistical sampling to support the filing of current and amended tax returns, as allowed by IRS and state tax agencies.  Much of STATS’ tax compliance work is in support of meal & entertainment deductions, research credits, section 199 deductions, Qualified Intermediary Audits, section 1441 and FATCA analyses, outside basis studies, repair allowances, depreciation deductions based on fixed asset/cost segregation studies, and sales & use tax determinations.

In addition to leading statistical sampling work concerning current and amended returns, he frequently provides tax controversy consulting services to clients where the IRS or state & local tax agencies are using sampling during taxpayer examinations, on appeal, or in advance agreements, such as Prefiling Agreements (“PFAs”) and Compliance Assurance Process (“CAP”) cases.

Lin maintains close contact with IRS counterparts, including the IRS regional statistical sampling coordinators.  He also has taken a leading role in organizing Big-4 meetings to comment on IRS statistical sampling procedures and requirements.

Lin also provides revenue estimating and other tax policy modeling consulting services.  He works with clients to estimate the budgetary impact of proposed federal, state, and local legislation, to present revenue and outlay estimates to legislative and executive branch staff and officials, to assist clients with the design of legislative proposals that recognize budgetary consequences, and to aid in the development of comprehensive legislative strategies.

Prior to joining PwC, Lin has worked for the Statistics of Income Division of the IRS; has been a Financial Economist in the Office of Tax Analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department; was an economist with the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation; and served as a Partner and a Managing Director for a Big Four firm, where he headed the Legislative & Regulatory Economics group.

Lin attended graduate courses in economics at George Washington University and has a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Kalamazoo College.

Lin is actively involved with the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Division as a member of a panel of outside consultants that regularly advises the Division on future directions.  He is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Washington Statistical Society.