Amazon increased the money it spent on lobbying by more than 90% last year
The company spent $9.07 million on lobbying in 2015, an incredible 91.4% surge from its 2014 spend, Consumer Watchdog reports.
That's a corporate record for the company.
Because companies must file lobbying records with the House of Representatives, you can search through the disclosures to see some of the issues that Amazon is focused on.
Unsurprisingly, issues relating to unmanned aerial vehicles and the FAA Modernization and Reform Act turn up. Since Amazon first announced its plans to create a drone-delivery service in 2013, the company has continually insisted that regulations, not tech, is the main thing holding its efforts back.
Amazon also lobbied about issues relating to surface transportation, likely related to its recent efforts to take more control of its fulfillment process.
Other recurring themes in its filings were issues related to patent reform, corporate tax reform and the taxation of remote sales, net neutrality, cloud computing, cyber-security regulation, copyright reform, and music licensing (probably relating to its Prime music service). We also spotted topics like high-skilled immigration, postal reform, and online wine sales.
Although Amazon had a huge spike in spending, it wasn't the highest-roller overall. Google topped the list of tech companies for the second year in a row.
Here's how other companies tech companies stacked up:
Google: $16.6 million in 2015 vs $16.83 million in 2014
Comcast: $15.63 million vs $16.8 million in 2014
AT&T: $14.86 million, up from $14.56 million in 2014
Facebook: $9.85 million from $9.34 million in 2014
Microsoft: $8.49 million vs $8.33 million in 2014
Apple: $4.48 million in 2015 compared to $4.11 million in 2014