In a bid to make Russian tax collectors more interested in their jobs, a local government has come up with a rather bizarre scheme – providing them with money-scented soap! The idea is that the special odor will stimulate and inspire tax collectors to love and enjoy collecting money.

The idea is the brainchild of Aman Tuleyev, governor of the Kemerovo Oblast region in Central Russia. He seems to strongly believe that by using cash-scented toiletries, the smell of money will linger around tax collectors all day, thus making them love it and increasing their tax collection rate.

The concept isn’t new though, as money-based perfume and soap have been around since at least 1998, when an Austrian artist managed to bottle the smell of cash. In 2011, a Japanese study found that having employees smell money all day long is a great way to improve their productivity.

Photo: Mikhail Samoilov

This is the first time a government official has decided to adopt such outlandish measures to improve employee efficiency. It’s even stranger coming from Tuleyev, who is otherwise known as a tough, serious man. But he explained that he wanted a way to remind tax collectors of the importance of their job, and of bringing more money to the treasury. He is unhappy with their lackadaisical attitude, while smart businessmen find new loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

Tuleyev is reported to have shared the idea during the budgetary meeting for the coming year. “There are different kinds of soap, and this is a special one with the aroma of crispy rubles,” he said, adding that it will remind employees of the necessity of collecting more money.

Photo: Gazeta Kemerova

In the past, Tuleyev was in the news for another interesting scheme – he offered free coal to citizens in exchange for losing weight, in an attempt to make them healthier!

via Siberian Times