International Embarrassment for French Luxury Brand Louis Vuitton on Mykonos

Greek tax authorities seized point of sale (POS) machines linked to banks in Switzerland at Louis Vuitton’s two shops on the island of Mykonos.

The POS machines are used by retailers to conduct credit card transactions and collect money from customers’ credit cards via banks. By law, all POS machines in Greece must be linked to Greek banks to prevent companies from evading taxes.

The two Louis Vuitton POS machines were linked to Swiss banks, bypassing the Greek system all together and effectively cheating the Greek tax authorities.

In total, two POS machines were seized. One was from the French luxury brand’s shop in Mykonos’ main town, called Chora and the other was confiscated from the company’s pop up shop at Nammos Village, a new fashion shopping destination affiliated with the popular beach club at Psarrou Beach.

The French company, owned by parent company LVMH has yet to comment on the report, shared by Greece’s official state-owned news agency ANA-MPA.

The sting operation against Louis Vuitton by Greek tax authorities on the popular summer island was part of a larger operation that closed numerous establishments and fined others, which were in violation of not issuing receipts to customers or not reporting income.

Tax evasion on resort islands like Mykonos, Santorini and elsewhere– frequent largely by foreign tourists– runs rampant in the summer months and Greece’s authorities try to be a step ahead– a Sisyphean task.

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