Kind of 'reverse unemployment benefits': No Job? Pay Up. Belarus Imposes Fines for Being Unemployed

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree imposing fines for being unemployed in a Soviet-style attempt to crack down on tax evaders and people working in sectors of the economy outside of state control.

The decree, signed Thursday, aims to “stimulate able-bodied citizens to engage in labor activity and fulfill their constitutional obligation to participate in financing state expenditures,” a statement published on the Belarussian presidential website read.

Working-age adults who live in Belarus, whether as citizens or permanent residents, would have to pay a fine unless they “participate in financing state expenditures” for at least 183 days a year. Acceptable forms of helping the state with its expenses include self-employment or being a full-time student, according to an explanatory note to the decree.

The Belarussian government, which controls much of the country's Soviet-style economy, has been contemplating the measure for several years, planning what Russian business daily Vzglyad described in 2013 as an “unemployment tax.”

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/no-job-pay-up-belarus-imposes-fines-for-being-unemployed/518581.html

The "Soviet" economy still live in Belarus.