The suggested “Amazon Tax” in #Barcelona seems to be coming. The argument for the tax shows good intentions, but maybe not enough understanding of ecommerce logistics    

It is a big misunderstanding that CP delivery is more sustainable than home delivery.

‘This planet cannot allow for a 300 gramme package to be transported to your home in a vehicle that weighs more than a tonne,’ said city councilor Jordi Martí – but it supports delivery to collection points (CP) which will trigger X car trips (car weight 750Kg?) to the CPs to pick up or return parcels instead of one delivery van to X addresses.
The milage driven by secondary car trips will by far exceed the saved delivery van milage. It is the Rebound Effect. 

Collection Points do not scale, so as time goes by and Spain catches up on the big ecommerce nations, it will be interesting to see where they will place the CPs required when each household receives at least one parcel per day.

The tax will be focused on ecommerce companies and postal services with high revenues, but excludes Amazon Flex deliveries and small carriers (The sub-contractors?)
Correos will have fun with this one, but maybe they are exempt from the “Amazon Tax”?
Will it also include taxing the traditional delivery of food from the Supermarkets?

#Paris has taken another road, by basically banning all vans and forced all deliveries to be done by bicycle. That makes sense and targets the secondary traffic CPs triggers. (No rebound effect)

Equal conditions?
‘We want local traders to have equal fiscal conditions compared to the major e-commerce platforms, who have a very high market share,’ Jaume Collboni Cuadrado, economy chief in Barcelona City council.
What is next. Taxing purchasing power? Setting retail sales prices? Getting rid of Discounters?

Local consumers are struggling with inflation and higher energy cost, and now the City of Barcelona will deprive the citizens of convenient home delivery and force them to drive from CP to CP to pick up and return parcels, or force the consumers to pay an extra tax.