Letters: Plan for free tax services for the people

I’m writing this letter to encourage the Navajo Nation government to plan for an opportunity to help the Navajo people.

For the last three years, I’ve participated in a program every tax season to prepare federal and state personal income taxes for medium- to low-income taxpayers. The community that I work for sees this as a way to save money for its people, a very big savings.

The community provides a program that prepares the federal and state income taxes for free for those clients who come in to have their taxes done.

This type of service is already being provided within the Navajo Nation but not up to its full potential. The service that I talk about is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program that is available under the IRS.

The IRS wants to increase the use of this service. The IRS wants the taxpayer to have every dollar of their refund in their pocket, to spend on their needs and not to go to a third party preparer at ridiculous fees, especially when 80 percent of the tax returns are simple to prepare.

The IRS provides the training and the software. The entity must provide the manpower, computer equipment, Internet connection and space. Once volunteers are certified, staff can start preparing and transmitting the tax returns for the clients, for free. Yes, for free. In fact, no tips or gratitude are allowed.

So, there is a commitment by the entity for resources, but consider the savings. I’ve seen tax preparer services offered anywhere from $75 to $400 depending upon the number of forms and schedules that need to be filled out. And if amendments need to be prepared, those are additional fees.

Over the last couple of years, the program I volunteer at has processed over 1,700 tax returns per year, with this year number topping off at 1,900 tax returns, with millions of dollars in refunds. This is big savings, even at $100 per tax return, that’s $190,000 saved. Savings that the respective clients can use on life necessities like food, gas, utilities, rent, and this is with four computers and 12 volunteers.

So I put it out there to the Navajo Nation government, from legislative to executive. Help your constituents out by working to provide this service on Navajo. Save the people’s money so that more of life’s necessities like food and gas can be purchased by your constituents.

With the ending of the 2016 tax season, this is a perfect time to think about and plan for the 2017 tax season. Planning needs to start now, recruitment of volunteers, space for tax preparation needs to be secured, and equipment like computer, printers and copiers need to be purchased or found so that the tax returns can be prepared, transmitted and printed.
Just a thought to the leaders of the Navajo Nation.

Mark C. Graham
Gilbert, Ariz.

Do our leaders understand sovereignty?

On Monday the 24th of April, the Navajo Nation took the day off to celebrate Sovereignty Day. I believe people should have time off to spend with their loved ones and any time off is a blessing.

However, while the Navajo Nation celebrates, the question arises, is the Navajo Nation really sovereign? Do our Navajo leaders, including Mr. Russell Begaye and the rest of the Navajo Nation, truly understand this notion?

I hope they do. We as a nation are dependent upon the United States government and there’s nothing wrong with this. We are owed this because of how much we lost as a people.

What we need to do is invest in ourselves. We need towards the future starting with energy. Coal is a thing of the past, it’s dangerous to the environment and to our land. I call upon our leaders to start investing into wind turbines and solar energy.

There is the power of the water, why not invest into a pipeline that feeds into those states that need water? Water will be more important than any resource out there in the future, especially in this changing environment. Why not invest into this resource instead of giving it away to corporations that will make a 100-year contract and make our children suffer?

Other opportunities involve looking at providing pharmaceutical companies with medical marijuana. The pueblo are already taking advantage of this and here we are with some Navajo “leader” saying it’s not a good business idea? Well it is. How many Navajos out there that can plant a crop and then sell it to giant companies? This is a good business opportunity for Navajo people.
And finally our leaders need to look at our people as a resource. Our people matter!

Any nation that wants to move forward and become truly sovereign invests into people. Our leaders need to see value and potential in our scholars. We have many Navajo who are trying to climb that ladder to success.

I am not saying to just give and give, but we need Navajo members to return with valuable skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Our nation has memorandum of understandings to support law students with Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and University of New Mexico. The only qualification is getting accepted into the juris doctorate program. Why can’t we as a nation invest into those students seeking advance STEM programs just like the juris doctorate program?

This would pay dividends to our future because those that receive scholarships from our nation would more than likely return to build our sovereignty.

All these ideas support our sovereignty and our future. I ask Council members to look into these ideas.

Sean Alvin Begaye
Fort Irwin, Calif.

It worked for you, didn’t it?

Are we trying hard enough for the next generation? I’m sitting in the library of University of Alaska Fairbanks, watching a small class explore the library on a tour. They’re being told they could one day “explore, create, and change” many aspects of the world.

When I visit the Navajo Reservation, I’m reminded of old friends and neighbors around town that maybe weren’t in some ways afforded the same opportunities I earned. Entirely, I look forward to having mom’s cooking, joking with my family, and sharing in their joy of whatever event is happening upon my return.

I find a small worry when I return home however. I worry about the children I’m not there to observe just like this class I’m observing now.

I remember each graduation and the Navajo Nation president would do his “Ahe’hee” speech and he would be given a plaque, a return “thank you from the students” for coming to speak at our graduation.

I remember each time thinking, “I’ve never seen him show up to any of my classes, let alone seen him in the school.” The power of belief is renewed every graduation that students are being taught, maybe not to the highest degree, but at “decent” degree and, wow, do we believe it’s a decent degree.

I suppose it’s best to help us sleep at night, we don’t really consider the future of today’s children when we’re aware of the death rate, the suicide rate, the STD rate, and the minor birth rate on our land.

At least we had a graduation today. They got a good start on education. We did our best as parents, guardians, and elders.

After all, it worked for you when you graduated. Didn’t it?

Kendrick Nelson McCabe
Fairbanks, Alaska
(Hometown: St. Michaels, Ariz.)

President’s plan perpetuates central planning

Centralized economic planning is the idea approved by President Russell Begaye. The president’s creation for a Navajo development corporation, the Nataanii Development Corporation, only perpetuates central planning for economic development.

I’m sure this so-called centralized planned economic proposal by the president will only fall in line with the inefficient use of resources, suppressing economic democracy and instability. But to the president’s credit, he is after all a government official that knows how to waste the people’s money.

Central planning is at worst, a ploy by a central government allowing for immense high salaries promoting projects that serve only themselves.

A backstory is that the Nataanii Corporation was attempted by the president to be capitalized by conglomerating all of the other Navajo enterprises. And to the credit of the enterprises, they rejected the president’s plan to reach into the pockets of the enterprises. Unable to control his own hands is an all too common reference of this president. No pun intended.

Now, in his latest proposal, the president wants to capture up to $5 million dollars from the sales tax to fund the Nataanii Corporation? The Navajo government basically wants to take $5 million dollars and give it to a yet to be formed corporation?

That’s as asinine and equivalent as giving a newborn a bottleful of energy drink that only an immature or third-place president would do.

And when it comes to local Navajo businesses, there are no champions inside the Begaye administration, much worse, no plans at all of how to assist Navajo small businesses. All we get as Navajo small business is talk, more compliance, broken promises, and yet, the president wants to create another “task force” made up of the “same” individuals that attempted to establish economic standards for the nation (i.e., Economic Development Committee), which was established by this president. Where are they now?

Economic Development Task Force established by the “new” Economic Development director, what has been accomplished? Nothing that is transparent to Navajo businesses. The nation then hires an individual that touts proudly that he did economic development for Mexico and the state of New Mexico, we have not seen any development on this nation at all that he has performed.

But it sure is easy for the president to allow his inside players to carve out a nice piece of job security for themselves when the corporation is established and then funded. And they’ll get their cushy offices, travel budgets, and retirement packages despite not having a background in starting up a successful business themselves. If they had successful businesses, why would they need to be in government?

And where is the toothcomb review analysis, the corporal punishment Navajo small businesses receive for this inside job of creating a Navajo corporation? I guess it’s easier to pick on the little guys than your buddies and pals, Mr. President.

Corporations that wish to locate to this nation must go through a lengthy process for business development, the corporation must clear as many as four committees and get clearance through the chapter by resolution, limited waiver of sovereign immunity, lease process by local agency (RDBO) and negotiation of tribal taxes with the nation and clearance from the Department of Justice. These clearances could take several years before a business could open on the Navajo Nation, even if you have your own financing.

I have gone through this lengthy process and finally gave up on trying to open lucrative businesses on Navajo land with my own financing. My Navajo owned company found it easier to open businesses in foreign countries than it was trying to deal with my own tribe.

Lastly, the corporations, like other native development corporations, develop projects off and away from the lands of their people. Southern Ute’s corporation may be profitable, but how many of their own tribal members participate in private business opportunities of their corporations? Next to none!

The Nataanii Corporation may well become similar to Navajo’s NOVA Corporation, using the Navajo name and status while located and employing non-Navajos at their operation on the East Coast, not on the Navajo Reservation where jobs are needed. Smart!

And I guess, not counting on winning the next election is becoming all too real for the president and his players. So why wouldn’t they set themselves up nicely?
Now is the time to do it, 18 months before the primary election. That’s the game played in Window Rock and this administration.

Joe Bergen
Page, Ariz.

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