All middlemen provide "some" value, or else they get eliminated by the market. Sure, some might stick around vestigially for momentum sake, but that gets worked

All middlemen provide "some" value, or else they get eliminated by the market. Sure, some might stick around vestigially for momentum sake, but that gets worked out over the long run. The question is more one of a value judgement. Is that value "fair" at its price? At the vary least many middle-provide market making functions. Even with your more recent Amazon example, there was nothing stopping smaller e-commerce stores from complying with VATMOSS. If Amazon wasn't there, most of them probably would have been able to hire consultants or other firms to help them comply. They didn't because Amazon was cheaper/easier. Is the loss of control to Amazon worth it? For the vendor? For society? Unclear, but we are only in the position because of the value Amazon provided even it comes with a social cost.