A government contractor is a company (privately owned, publicly traded or a state-owned enterprise) – either for profit or non-profit – that produces goods or services under contract for the government.
[1] Some communities are largely sustained by government contracting activity; for instance, much of the economy of Northern Virginia consists of government contractors employed directly or indirectly by the federal government of the United States.
In ancient Rome, term publican was used for private individuals that performed work on public buildings, supplied Roman armies, or collected taxes.
[7] The prime contractor term was already defined before the 8 March 1946 passage of An Act To eliminate the practice by subcontractors, under cost-plus-a-fixed-fee or cost reimbursable contacts of the United States, of paying fees or kick-backs, or of granting gifts or gratuities to employees of a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee or cost reimbursable prime contractors or of higher tier subcontractors for the purpose of securing the award of subcontracts or orders.
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