President Obama is proposing increased efforts to collect overdue taxes from contractors. In his 2010 budget the president outlines new procedures for the Treasury Department to speed up collections from contractors,

In 2007 the Government Accountability Office estimated that about 60,000 federal contractors owed more than $7 billion in back taxes.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation councils propose ending the 10% withholding of payments on fixed-price architect-engineer contracts.

A proposed rule would permit contracting officers to use their judgment in deciding how much of a payment to withhold, based on an assessment of the contractor’s performance under the contract.

The rule is FAR case 2008-015. Comments are due July 6.

SBA is considering a waiver of the nonmanufacturer rule for Petroleum Refineries, PSC 9130—Liquid Propellants—Petroleum Base (NAICS code 324110).

The agency believes no small business manufacturers supply these classes of products to the government. Comments are due May 26.