Should Rick Steves' restaurant selection criteria include it's fiscal (tax paying) responsibility?

This is serious? I have no idea what is obvious and what is not. Nor do you! If it was so obvious then the local tax enforcer should see it in five minutes. It is not my job (or Steves or any tourists) to enforce tax collection in another country. Are you equally vigilant in the US and especially about report it. Some studies have suggested that the taxes lost on our underground economy would off set the deficits. May be we should clean our house before telling others how to clean their house. How can you observe one transaction and know instantly that there is tax fraud?

You should have asked for a receipt. Then the restaurant would have to report the income to the authorities. My friends in Greece told me to always ask for a receipt at a gas station or restaurant.

No. I may look to a restaurant guide to find a good place to eat, but that's where it stops, and I certainly would not expect that review-by RS or any other entity-to extend to tax matters, or whether the plumbing and electrical in the place was up to code or not.
Do I wish that people in my own country would follow the letter of the law? Yes
Last time I checked I was a U.S. citizen. What other countries do about tax issues is up to them. Are you suggesting that any restaurant review should have this information, or just the guy that runs this site?
Does a Michelin inspector delve into the books, or is he more likely to spend his time evaluating the creaminess of the fois gras? A Michelin star is pretty valuable too, should he set the fois gras aside?

I don't think this is Rick Steves' responsibility.

FYI . . . I know of one high-end restaurant chain (to remain unnamed) in the States where the waitstaff collects the money from their individual customers, & settles the debt with the cashier at the end of the shift. I asked b/c I did not see my server go to the cash register.

A computer is used to record the order that is sent to the cook.

I go to travel guides for recommendations on good places to stay or eat on the basis of another person's experience with the establishment. How it handles its fiscal responsibility is not what I want the recommendations based on.

{Addition: @Barb, Being that I have waited tables (many a year ago), I bet the fact the server takes charge of the payments cuts back on "check runners" tremendously! It seems when I go to the restaurant I referred to, my DH and I are watched like a hawk once we are finished w/the meal and sipping coffee.}

To add to the above post - many restaurant chains in USA, like Olive Garden and Outback, use a method where the order is entered on computer. A "tab" is then run on the server. It is the sever's responsibility to collect all payments and then settle the account at the end of the night. It's really a pain for servers. However, it keeps servers on their toes with collections and bills and prevents servers from giving away free meals to friends. I think the biggest violators in US are small businesses that handle a lot of cash. It can be anything from hairstylists to restaurants to dentists to casinos. Any cash flow can be skimmed.

Putting that kind of information in a guidebook, even if the info could be verified, is impractical. Guidebooks go to press months or years before the reader gets them, and stay in circulation practically forever. In the meantime, the offender could have repented, settled his/her debt to society, and seen the light of civic responsibility. Then what does the (now incorrect and) slanderous comment serve?

Agree - none of Rick's (or any reviewer's) business. In fact, if he/they tried to make it his business, he could get in serious legal trouble.

My guess is that most of the people on this web site (excluding our Canadian friends) and many posting here are tax dodgers every year, including David and myself.

So where does this request to become an additional layer of police end? How do we monitor family owned hotels? Taxis?

When I first started reading this post I thought it was going to a satiric & sarcastic post - then I realized OP was serious. Then I just shook my head,

No I don't think that that is the business of a guidebook.

So who did you notify in the Greek government? Or a Greek newspaper? How do you know what they did after you left?

@{Edit: Frank (not David)}

"many posting here are tax dodgers"

(in a Scottish accent w/no offense intended to the Scots)

Shhhhhhhhhh! Speak for yourself, man. ;-)

It would seem that if Greece is serious about revenue protection, they will implement measures to ensure taxes are accurately paid, and visitors can focus on enjoying their meals and their visit. It's unfortunate, though, if potholes aren't fixed, public safety is compromised, and Greek society suffers because some aren't playing by the rules.

@ Colette, 'wheesht, mon, speak fir yersel!' ;-)

Seriously no one likes paying taxes even if we appreciate what those taxes pay for. It is human nature, the annoyance at the end of the month when the payslip is received to see a third of it go off to the Treasury. Of seeing the receipt with the 'VAT @ 20%' etc. So people will avoid if they think they can get away with it and that is why the tax authorities are always watching.

Secondly, if I owned a bar or a restaurant and there was a review in it that 'the food is exquisite and delicately matched with the perfect wine and decor to provide the perfect ambiance. However I think the owner is dodging VAT or sales taxes by taking a few dollars, euros, pounds etc under the counter to avoid the books' as the owner I'd be down at my lawyer as soon as I found out. Because if I did not, the Revenue would be crawling all over my business.

It is easier for a local campaign then a tourist guidebook which by its nature is out of date before it goes to print. When it got revealed Starbucks in the UK had been avoiding tax, takings went up at their main rival Costa. I had never seen my branch of Costa so busy, or the nearby Starbucks so empty.

Interesting to see other's opinions.
1. I really don't expect RS to rat out any establishment to the tax authorities. Instead, the decision to recommend or not, a restaurant is based on a number of factors, one of which may include "civic" responsibility.
2. I assume that RS uses more than just his own experience before recommending an establishment since the red carpet is rolled out whenever he shows up. The views and comments by tour members and RS staff and comments on this Forum who use the establishments are used. Since almost no one will mention tax issues in their restaurant reviews, this is more a theoretical argument.
3. The inability of governments to collect lawful taxes, in particular struggling countries like Greece and Italy, greatly increases both fiscal and political instability. It is definitely the responsibility of governments to collect the taxes, just that some are better than others. Finally, in Greece, most people cheat on their taxes because they do not trust their government to use their taxes wisely, instead, they feel that the government is the biggest cheat of them all.
4. Lastly, with great influence, comes great responsibility. People can interpret that however, they feel it applies. Thanks for the comments.

To follow up MC,

and I've never darkened the doors of $tarbucks since.