Amazon.com has retained government relations firm McGuireWoods Consulting for Capitol Hill support on tax-related issues.
According to lobbying registration documents filed in July, the e-commerce giant has retained MWC for help with the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2017, which would restore state governments’ ability to collect sales taxes from retailers with no physical presence in their state.
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The Internet’s largest retailer has also hired MWC to lobby in response to the Remote Transaction Parity Act, which gives states the authority to enforce state and local sales and to use tax laws on remote transactions.
McGuireWoods will also advocate on behalf of the Seattle-based retailer in regard to the testing and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in the U.S.
A seven-person team manages the Amazon account, including senior advisor Michael Drobac, who previously led government affairs for Netflix and was also director of government affairs for IAC/InterActive Corp. as well as VP-government affairs at the Online Publishers Association.
Drobac was formerly Congressional aide to Senators Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Tex.) as well as a legislative director for Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).
MWC staffs more than 1,000 lawyers in 23 offices worldwide.
Knob Petroleum, which is based in Panama City, has retained Ballard Partners to explore opportunities in Venezuela.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has signed to represent Eastern Air Holdings, which operates deportation flights for Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
Ballard Partners has lined up Australia’s Energy Transition Minerals company, an explorer and developer of rare earths minerals opportunities. It touts its Greenland property as having the potential to become the biggest rare earths producer in the western world.
Abbvie has retained Trump-connected Winston-Salem-based Checkmate Government Relations for healthcare matters and issues related to the life sciences sector.
Netflix has retained Bloom Strategic Counsel for regulatory matters regarding its proposed $83B merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
