Study says casinos, tribal businesses help economy

TACOMA – Casinos and other tribal businesses, although not directly taxed by the state, have spawned a $3.2 billion “Indian economy” that generates jobs, spending and taxes throughout the region.

That was the conclusion of a two-year study released Tuesday at the kickoff of the annual Northwest Indian Gaming Expo in Tacoma.

“The tribes in Washington are really standing on their own two feet to a degree that was never possible before,” said economic consultant Jonathan Taylor, who did the study. It was paid for by the Washington Indian Gaming Association.

The tribes buy carpeting, Coca Cola, management consulting services, trucks, asphalt, bricks and so forth, he said. Most of those purchases are made off-reservation and are taxed. He tallied the state and local taxes at $141 million a year.

“At least 19 out of 20 purchasing dollars are spent outside the reservations,” Taylor said. “This money doesn’t go to North Korea, never to be seen again. It goes right into the taxable economy.”

Although Indian income remains less than 60 percent of the statewide average – and less than 50 percent for tribal members living on reservations – the increasing economic activity is giving the tribes a “very substantial new independence,” Taylor said.

In a measure of tribes’ economic clout, the gaming expo has in just a few years outgrown its previous site at a Tacoma hotel and now dominates the new Tacoma convention center. Dozens of vendors – including makers of gambling machines, financial services firms and food suppliers – crowded an exhibition hall.

Taylor said the state’s tribal ventures employed about 30,000 Washingtonians in 2004, the most recent year covered by the study. He gathered data for the report from 20 of the state’s 29 tribes, including most of the major ones. Some tribes didn’t want to release financial information.

“In Indian country, the tribes are very reluctant about giving up too much information, because we worry about it being used against us,” said W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe and president of the gaming association.