A break on state taxes is already being given to new manufacturing businesses, but existing establishments do not receive this benefit. However, in talks with the New Mexico State Legislature Interim Indian Affairs Committee, it was agreed that dual taxation is an impediment to economic development. Notah, therefore, feels that there will be some receptiveness for a bill that is currently pending in which the state would give credit against its taxes for taxes paid to the tribe since the state ultimately benefits anyway from money made on the Reservation. Welfare reform is expected to affect 7,000 families the first year on the Nation, and Notah adds that another 1,500 jobs most likely will be needed for those families taken off the rolls. He also believes that many home-based businesses will blossom since families will be looking to supplement their sources of revenue.
Tourism plays a major part in the economy of the reservation.
However, only five percent of that figure is kept on the Reservation. With such attractions as the Grand Canyon, the Four Corners, Lake Powell, Canyon de Chelly and the I-40 corridor, Notah believes that tourism is an untapped gold mine that the Nation should develop to provide needed jobs and an improved tax base. One potential job source on which the Nation will be voting November 4 is whether to enter the gaming industry. In the past, gambling has been voted down. A lot of effort is being put into educating the Navajo people about gaming and about the financial situation of the Tribe, says Notah.