Bottom Line

• TAXES. The end of the year tends to bring a lot of discussions about taxes into play. Two firms, Subject Matter and LobbyIt.com, will be going to battle for clients on legislation that would govern how purchases on the Internet are taxed. Subject Matter has been hired by the International Council of Shopping Centers to push lawmakers to enact legislation giving states the authority to require Internet retailers to collect sales tax, even if they’re located out of the state. 

• The National Sporting Goods Association, meanwhile, has hired LobbyIt.com to work specifically on supporting a version of Internet sales tax legislation introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) earlier this year. The Remote Transactions Parity Act mirrors a bill that has passed the Senate, but it has been running into roadblocks from conservatives and anti-tax groups. The issue itself has been a K Street battleground for years, with bricks-and-mortar retailers often squaring off against online companies.

{mosads}• JUDICIARY. Former Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) has taken his only lobbying client, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, with him to the lobbying firm he recently founded. He set up shop last month at Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, leaving Clark Hill, the firm he joined after losing a reelection bid. Quayle has been working with the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform on legislation called the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act, which aims to combat asbestos lawsuit fraud. Public interest and environmental groups have decried the bills — which have been introduced in the House and Senate — and say that they would provide burdensome delays for victims in need of compensation.

• DRONES. Professional Photographers of America has hired R2P Strategies to work on “issues related to copyright and drone usage.” The Federal Aviation Administration is working on regulations for drone — or unmanned areal vehicle — usage for commercial purposes, and earlier this year came out with some rough guidelines.