No, the agency is funded by taxes levied on the region's taconite mining companies. No money comes from the state's general fund. Approximately half of the agency's annual revenue comes from taconite production taxes levied in lieu of local property taxes on iron mining companies located within the Taconite Assistance Area. The other half of the agency's annual revenue comes from interest income, loan repayments and receipts from Giants Ridge, an agency-owned facility.