Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Think Progress » Blackwater received millions in small business contracts — but it’s not a small business.

Blackwater received millions in small business contracts — but it’s not a small business.
Blackwater received millions in small business contracts — but it’s not a small business.»
An audit by the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration found that private security firm Blackwater “obtained dozens of small business contracts worth more than $110 million even though” the company “may have exceeded size limits for a small business”:

The Inspector General of the Small Business Administration said Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., obtained 39 contracts set aside for small businesses from 2005 through 2007. Of these, 32 contracts worth $2.1 million were set aside for companies with annual revenues of $6.5 million or less.

Blackwater’s revenues have exceeded $200 million each of those years, according to federal contracting data.

The report said that Blackwater “may have improperly classified Blackwater guards in Iraq and Afghanistan as independent contractors rather than employees.” It’s a tactic other private contractors have used to avoid paying taxes.

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