What the Amazon tax is: how it can affect us and what the alternative is

The Amazon tax is a topic that is very much in the news, and you’ve probably already heard about it

The Amazon tax is a topic that is very much in the news, and you’ve probably already heard about it. In general terms, the Amazon tax is a proposed local tax that will have to be paid “for the occupation of public space that occurs as a result of home delivery of parcels.”

What does the Amazon tax mean? That the activity of last-mile couriers, who park their vehicles on the street in order to make deliveries, will be taxed with this levy.

In recent times, home delivery convenience had been accepted, but the implementation of the Amazon tax shows that the parcel locker alternative is the perfect shipping option (we’re not going to say “Told you so,” but YES 😂)

A problem that has been around for a long time

For a few years now, people have been talking about how online sales have been saturating the major cities, especially. The main problem is that, still, there are many cities that do not have enough space on public roads to accommodate all the transport vehicles needed to meet the high demand. What does this cause? Traffic congestion, which is already quite congested simply with the large volume of cars that circulate daily.

From the University of Texas, a study was launched(opens in a new tab) to shed light on this issue with data. The conclusion is that one of the main problems is vans, which account for 7% of road traffic and cause up to 28% of congestion.

Far from being solved, this has been getting worse, especially since the pandemic, when there has been a huge boom in online stores, as well as an increase in orders on large marketplaces.

And, in addition, all this situation, caused by the excessive circulation of cars and vans, has a greater environmental impact, increasingly evident in large cities.

Who is affected by the Amazon tax?

Although it takes the name of the Silicon Valley giant, this tax is aimed at large courier operators, since they are the ones that cause the occupation of public space to make deliveries.

Although it does not directly affect consumers, indirectly this tax can affect customers who place online orders, since shipping prices for parcels may increase, for example.

The alternative? Deliveries at pickup points

To avoid the excessive use of delivery vehicles and reduce environmental impact, the most viable alternative is parcel deliveries at pickup points. The Amazon tax will not affect deliveries at pickup points, since what it specifically seeks is to encourage them.

What are the advantages? The main one is that you can go to pickup points whenever it suits you best during their opening hours. And, indirectly, you are contributing to relieving congestion in cities.

At InPost we have been supporting this type of delivery since our beginnings. Today, we have more than 4,500 Punto Pack | Locker distributed throughout Spain, so that sending parcels is as convenient as possible for you. In addition, we have agreements with many online stores, such as Vinted (here we tell you how to sell on Vinted), Shein or Zara, so you can go to the store that is most convenient from home, work, office, etc.