SmallBusinessNewz

Everyone knows it's not a good idea to stiff the government - not unless you like facing audits, tax evasion charges, and property seizures, anyway.  Unfortunately, small businesses aren't able to enforce things in quite the same manner, and it seems that government agencies are continuing to make late payments to them.

This isn't an instance of one clerk in a single agency forgetting to mail some checks.  The Federation of Small Businesses and ICM Research studied the matter and reported afterward, "[L]ocal Government is likely to pay one in four invoices late, and central Government and Government agencies make one in three payments late."

Those are pretty awful numbers.  It's hard to imagine excusing private individuals for being so terrible at paying on time, and given that the government has quite a lot more money than most of them - and is of course responsible for enforcing laws and perhaps setting an example - the situation's even harder to grasp.

So the FSB's taking action.  According to a statement, "The FSB is now urging Government to take the lead in tacking this problem by implementing a 'Social Clause' in national and local Government contracts.  This relies on the Government stepping up its game, paying swiftly and then giving a guarantee that when the Government pays the lead contractor quickly, this is passed down the supply chain to all sub-contractors - with penalties attached for persistent non-compliance."

Let's hope this measure (or something like it) is brought into effect in the near future.