Tax evasion at Knossos ancient site

No receipts! Eight assistants failed to ring up sales at the cash register

Inspectors of the Ministry of Finance audited the souvenir shop at the Archeological Site of Knossos on the isle of Crete. The tax inspectors arrived after a visitor claimed he didn’t get a receipt for the items he purchased. Posing as customers, tax inspectors found that over the course of several hours, none of the eight shop employees issued receipts for sales. Instead, they recorded sales on a ledger. All up, there were 534 tax violations recorded in just one day.

When questioned, they first said that they were too busy to ring up sales. Later, they said that the cash register was out of order though tax officials found this not to be the case. Furthermore, the cash register was not registered.

“We are waiting for the report of the tax authorities so that we can subsequently launch a procedure of discipinary sanctions,” said Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis. He said that there would be “zero tolerance” for civil servants who fail to defend publish interest.