President Obama Directs Administration to Crack Down on Tax Cheats Seeking Government Contracts

In a new press release from the White House the Obama administration has directed the Office of Management and Budget, as well as the Treasury Department and other federal agencies, to take steps to block contractors who are delinquent on their taxes from receiving new government contracts.

He will also direct the IRS to conduct a review of the overall accuracy of companies’ claims about tax delinquency to be sure that when a company says it is paying taxes, it is telling the truth. The President will be joined today by Vice President Biden, Senator Claire McCaskill, Congressman Ed Towns, Congressman Brad Ellsworth, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, and Chief Performance Officer of the United States Jeffrey Zients.

In addition, the President is calling on Congress to give the government the tools necessary to ensure that the public’s tax dollars are not used to boost the profits of companies who refuse to pay their taxes.

“By issuing this directive, all of us in Washington will be required to be more responsible stewards of your tax dollars. All across this country, there are people who meet their obligations each and every day. You do your jobs. You support your families. You pay the taxes you owe – because it’s a fundamental responsibility of citizenship,” said President Barack Obama. “The steps I’m directing today and the steps I’m calling on Congress to take are just basic common-sense. They’re not going to eliminate all of the waste or abuse in government contracting in one fell swoop. Going forward, we’ll also have to do more to hold contractors more accountable not just for paying taxes, but for following other laws as well.”