Community Renewal Good Stories - Turtle Mountain

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RC Tax Incentives Yield Big Savings for Turtle Mountain Businesses

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, RC

Ten miles south of the Canadian border in rural North Dakota, one of the newest RC designations is providing much-needed support to businesses and reinvigorating industrial recruitment efforts in this tribal community. A critical component of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe's overall economic development strategy, the RC designation has helped expand the horizons of both local business owners and the tribal government.

Tribal member Ken Davis is aggressively pursuing several potential ventures now that his current business, LaDots Convenience Store, is reaping the benefits of RC tax incentives. In 2002 LaDots, Inc., received an $81,000 CRD allocation, and in 2003 it claimed $48,000 in RC wage credits and $72,000 in Increased IRS Section 179 Deductions.

"Because of the tax savings achieved through the RC designation, I was able to give several employees raises and substantially improve their benefits packages," said Davis. In addition to helping his staff, Davis hopes to improve retail options for those living on the reservation by constructing a 10,000-square-foot building that will provide hardware services. Turtle Mountain currently lacks a hardware store.

The RC designation has motivated the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribal government to identify and recruit new companies and industries. Since January 2004 Turtle Mountain RC staff members have marketed the tax incentives aggressively to businesses. RC staffers also have attended trade fairs and business gatherings in Belcourt and Grand Forks, North Dakota, and in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The RC made more than 260 business contacts and several businesses are considering Turtle Mountain as a future site for investment.

For more information on the programs of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa RC, contact Chief Executive Officer Betty Hamley at (701) 477-2607.