Federal user fees : design, collection, use and evaluation considerations / Noah R. Myers, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Myers, Noah R., editor.

Series:

Government procedures and operations.

Government Procedures and Operations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

User charges--United States.

User charges.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (146 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, [New York] : Nova Science Publishers, 2016.

Summary:

The federal government will need to make the most of its resources to meet the emerging challenges of the 21st century. As new priorities emerge, policymakers have demonstrated interest in user fees as a means of financing new and existing services. User fees can be designed to reduce the burden on taxpayers to finance the portions of activities that provide benefits to identifiable users above and beyond what is normally provided to the public. By charging the costs of those programs or activities to beneficiaries, user fees can also promote economic efficiency and equity. However, to achieve these goals, user fees must be well designed. This book examines how the four key design and implementation characteristics of user fees--how fees are set, collected, used, and reviewed--may affect the economic efficiency, equity, revenue adequacy, and administrative burden of cost-based fees.

Contents:

FEDERAL USER FEES DESIGN, COLLECTION, USE AND EVALUATION CONSIDERATIONS ; FEDERAL USER FEES DESIGN, COLLECTION, USE AND EVALUATION CONSIDERATIONS ; CONTENTS ; PREFACE ; Chapter 1 FEDERAL USER FEES: A DESIGN GUIDE* ; WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY ; WHAT GAO FOUND; ABBREVIATIONS; BACKGROUND ; Definition of User Fees ; Authority to Charge Fees ; SETTING USER FEES: DETERMINING BENEFICIARIES AND ALLOCATING COSTS ; To What Extent does the Program Benefit both the General Public and Users? ; What Mechanisms Help Ensure the Fee Will Cover the Intended Share of Costs Over Time?

How Should Program Costs be Determined and Assigned to Users? How Much does the Program Cost? ; How should Program Costs be Allocated across Users? ; COLLECTING USER FEES: BALANCING COMPLIANCE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ; At What Point should the Fees be Collected? ; Can Leveraging Existing Collections or Compliance Systems Decrease Administrative Costs? ; USING USER FEES: BALANCING CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT, AGENCY FLEXIBILITY, AND STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS ; What are the Statutory Controls on Agency Use of Fee Collections?

How Broadly or Narrowly are the Authorized Uses of the Fee Collections Defined? REVIEWING USER FEES: PROVIDING INFORMATION ON COSTS AND PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND FACILITATING STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT ; How Is the Fee Updated? ; How Often Is the Fee Reviewed and What Information Is Included in the Review? ; What Role Do Stakeholders Play in the Fee Reviews? ; CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ; AGENCY COMMENTS ; APPENDIX I: KEY QUESTIONS ; Section I: Setting User Fees ; Section II: Collecting User Fees; Section III: Using User Fees ; Section IV: Reviewing User Fees ; End Notes

Chapter 2 FEDERAL USER FEES: KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING REGULATORY FEES* WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY ; WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS ; WHAT GAO FOUND ; ABBREVIATIONS; BACKGROUND ; SETTING REGULATORY USER FEES: THE AMOUNT SET CAN DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF REGULATORY ACTIVITY ; The Extent of Agency Discretion to Set Regulatory User Fees Has Implications for Rulemaking ; Fee Setting Decisions Can Affect the Level of Regulatory Activity; Regulatory User Fees Balance Public Benefits with Services to Fee Payers; Small Entities Are Typically Given Special Consideration

COLLECTING REGULATORY USER FEES: TIMING COULD HAVE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS Fees Collected at Regular Intervals Can Cover Broad Costs of Regulation, but May Require Different Internal Controls Than Transactional Fees ; Some Agencies Must Receive a Minimum Amount of Appropriations before They Can Begin Fee Collections ; USING REGULATORY USER FEES: VARIATIONS IN AVAILABILITY OF FEES AND UNOBLIGATED BALANCES ; Available Unobligated Balances Can Sometimes Be Used to Manage Revenue Instability ; Collected Fees Are Sometimes Unavailable to the Agency

REVIEWING REGULATORY USER FEES: TIME FRAMES AND METHODS VARY, AND TRANSPARENCY AND STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH ARE CRITICAL FOR FEE REVIEWS

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-63484-869-1