U.S. Government Sues Company For Not Giving A Discount

RPM International Inc. and Tremco Inc. have to pay the government $60.9 million because they did not give the government a discount. It turns out that if a company gives a discount in the private sector they have to give it to the government too.

Allegedly, from January 2002 to March 2011, Tremco knowingly violated its contractual obligations to provide GSA with current, accurate and complete information about its commercial sales practices, to report changes in discounts to comparable commercial customers and to pass those discounts on to government customers.

So if they violated a contract they made with the government, yeah, they did something wrong. However, I am still dumbfounded that the government expects a discount because someone else got a discount. The story never said everyone but the government got a discount. Just that the government didn't get a discount someone else got.

Imagine that; the government made it illegal to charge them full price. I'm sure other customers didn't get a discount and were charged full price, but that is speculation on my part.

Has the government forgotten that this company is going to pay 35% of their income in business taxes? And they want a discount too? What is this!? The mafia!?