Aleksei Kudrin told journalists in Moscow on 30 October that all federal taxes collected in Chechnya must be transferred to the central budget, whence they will be channeled back to Grozny to finance reconstruction. \"We cannot afford the luxury of making any legal exceptions\" to Russia\'s unified tax system, Kudrin explained. Akhmad-hadji Kadyrov, who was named the winner of the controversial 5 October Chechen presidential ballot, argued earlier this month that Chechnya should retain all taxes collected on its territory until 2010. Also on 30 October, Stanislav Ilyasov, who is Russian minister for Chechen affairs, told Interfax that 3.5 billion rubles ($116.9 million) has been earmarked for reconstruction in Chechnya in 2004, and that 20,000 new jobs will be created next year. He said that more than 50 percent of Chechnya\'s adult population is unemployed. (Interfax)