In addition, the Band shares sales, liquor, cigarette, gas, motor vehicle, and other taxes collected on reservation trust lands with the State of Minnesota, which in turn shares those taxes with local governments. Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley have paid more than $86 million in federal and state taxes based on wages paid to employees since 1991. In 2010, the Mille Lacs Band, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, and Grand Casino Mille Lacs paid $454,389 in property taxes to Mille Lacs County, $1,118,884 to Pine County, and $102,706 to Aitkin County. While lands owned by the United States in trust for tribes, including certain Mille Lacs Band lands, are not subject to state and local taxes, the Band does pay real estate taxes on all lands it has purchased or owns. In addition, people who live on trust lands do not pay real estate taxes, because they lease rather than own the property. The only exceptions are American Indians who live and work on the Reservation - they do not pay state income taxes. The Band has invested in community infrastructure, economic development, and other benefits for the entire region, and is an important economic catalyst throughout East Central Minnesota.Īmerican Indians pay federal income tax on all of their income, and most pay state income taxes. Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley paid approximately $5.6 million for utilities in 2010. Local utilities have increased their power output to accommodate the casinos’ electrical needs. Local hospitals have expanded, in part because Grand Casino Mille Lacs provides health insurance benefits to area residents who may not have had insurance before. Since the casinos opened, jobs have increased by 35 percent in Mille Lacs County and 72 percent in Pine County. Neighboring local businesses have created many new jobs in response to increased visitor traffic created by Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley and increased spending by casino employees. The Mille Lacs Band supports local small businesses, with a majority of the vendors and local contractors located in East Central Minnesota.

The Band is also a significant provider of health insurance and other benefits to people in the region. More than 90 percent of employees live in surrounding communities. In addition to 3,400 corporate employees, the Band’s government employs approximately 700 people full-time.

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