WASHINGTON  President Obama, cracking down on tax cheats, said on Wednesday that the federal government would no longer award contracts to companies that did not pay their taxes, and called on Congress to pass legislation allowing the Internal Revenue Service to share information about businesses that owe back taxes.

Mr. Obama used his executive authority to direct the heads of federal agencies to bar “deadbeat companies” from doing business with the government. Studies by the Government Accountability Office have identified tens of thousands of such companies that, collectively, owe more than $5 billion in back taxes, the president said.

Image From left, Jeffrey D. Zients, Chief Performance Officer from the Office of Management and Budget; Douglas Shulman, I.R.S. commissioner; Vice President Joseph R. Biden; President Obama; Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri; and Representative Edolphus Towns of New York at the signing of the presidential directive. Credit... Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times

“In a time of great need, when our families and our nation are finding it necessary to tighten our belts and be more responsible with how we spend our money, we can’t afford to waste taxpayer dollars,” Mr. Obama said. “And we especially can’t afford to let companies game the system.”