15 U.S.C. § 78ee: Transaction fees

The Commission shall, in accordance with this section, collect transaction fees and assessments that are designed to recover the costs to the Government of the annual appropriation to the Commission by Congress. Subject to subsection (j), each national securities exchange shall pay to the Commission a fee at a rate equal to $15 1 per $1,000,000 of the aggregate dollar amount of sales of securities (other than bonds, debentures, other evidences of indebtedness, security futures products, and options on securities indexes (excluding a narrow-based security index)) transacted on such national securities exchange. 1 See Adjustment of Transaction Fee Rate notes below. Subject to subsection (j), each national securities association shall pay to the Commission a fee at a rate equal to $15 1 per $1,000,000 of the aggregate dollar amount of sales transacted by or through any member of such association otherwise than on a national securities exchange of securities (other than bonds, debentures, other evidences of indebtedness, security futures products, and options on securities indexes (excluding a narrow-based security index)) registered on a national securities exchange or subject to prompt last sale reporting pursuant to the rules of the Commission or a registered national securities association. Each national securities exchange and national securities association shall pay to the Commission an assessment equal to $0.009 for each round turn transaction (treated as including one purchase and one sale of a contract of sale for future delivery) on a security future traded on such national securities exchange or by or through any member of such association otherwise than on a national securities exchange, except that for fiscal year 2007 and each succeeding fiscal year such assessment shall be equal to $0.0042 for each such transaction. on or before March 15, with respect to transactions and sales occurring during the period beginning on the preceding September 1 and ending at the close of the preceding December 31; and on or before September 25, with respect to transactions and sales occurring during the period beginning on the preceding January 1 and ending at the close of the preceding August 31. The Commission, by rule, may exempt any sale of securities or any class of sales of securities from any fee or assessment imposed by this section, if the Commission finds that such exemption is consistent with the public interest, the equal regulation of markets and brokers and dealers, and the development of a national market system. The Commission shall publish in the Federal Register notices of the fee and assessment rates applicable under this section for each fiscal year not later than 30 days after the date on which an Act making a regular appropriation to the Commission for such fiscal year is enacted, together with any estimates or projections on which such fees are based. The rates per $1,000,000 required by this section shall be applied pro rata to amounts and balances of less than $1,000,000. shall be deposited and credited as offsetting collections to the account providing appropriations to the Commission; and except as provided in subsection (k), shall not be collected for any fiscal year except to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. No fees collected pursuant to subsections (b), (c), and (d) for fiscal year 2002 or any succeeding fiscal year shall be deposited and credited as general revenue of the Treasury. Subject to subsections (i)(1)(B) and (k), for each fiscal year, the Commission shall by order adjust each of the rates applicable under subsections (b) and (c) for such fiscal year to a uniform adjusted rate that, when applied to the baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales for such fiscal year, is reasonably likely to produce aggregate fee collections under this section (including assessments collected under subsection (d) of this section) that are equal to the regular appropriation to the Commission by Congress for such fiscal year. Subject to subsections (i)(1)(B) and (k), for each fiscal year, the Commission shall determine, by March 1 of such fiscal year, whether, based on the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales during the first 5 months of such fiscal year, the baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar volume of sales used under paragraph (1) for such fiscal year is reasonably likely to be 10 percent (or more) greater or less than the actual aggregate dollar volume of sales for such fiscal year. If the Commission so determines, the Commission shall by order, no later than March 1, adjust each of the rates applicable under subsections (b) and (c) for such fiscal year to a uniform adjusted rate that, when applied to the revised estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales for the remainder of such fiscal year, is reasonably likely to produce aggregate fee collections under this section (including fees collected during such five-month period and assessments collected under subsection (d) of this section) that are equal to the regular appropriation to the Commission by Congress for such fiscal year. In making such revised estimate, the Commission shall, after consultation with the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, use the same methodology required by subsection ( l ). In exercising its authority under this subsection, the Commission shall not be required to comply with the provisions of section 553 of title 5 . An adjusted rate prescribed under paragraph (1) or (2) and published under subsection (g) shall not be subject to judicial review. the first day of the fiscal year to which such rate applies; or 60 days after the date on which an Act making a regular appropriation to the Commission for such fiscal year is enacted. An adjusted rate prescribed under paragraph (2) shall take effect on April 1 of the fiscal year to which such rate applies. If on the first day of a fiscal year a regular appropriation to the Commission has not been enacted, the Commission shall continue to collect (as offsetting collections) the fees and assessments under subsections (b), (c), and (d) at the rate in effect during the preceding fiscal year, until 60 days after the date such a regular appropriation is enacted. The baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales for any fiscal year is the baseline estimate of the aggregate dollar amount of sales of securities (other than bonds, debentures, other evidences of indebtedness, security futures products, and options on securities indexes (excluding a narrow-based security index)) to be transacted on each national securities exchange and by or through any member of each national securities association (otherwise than on a national securities exchange) during such fiscal year as determined by the Commission, after consultation with the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, using the methodology required for making projections pursuant to section 907 of title 2 . For fiscal year 2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Commission shall prepare and submit a budget to the President. Whenever the Commission submits a budget estimate or request to the President or the Office of Management and Budget, the Commission shall concurrently transmit copies of the estimate or request to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives. The President shall submit each budget submitted under paragraph (1) to Congress, in unaltered form, together with the annual budget for the Administration submitted by the President. an itemization of the amount of funds necessary to carry out the functions of the Commission. an amount to be designated as contingency funding to be used by the Commission to address unanticipated needs; and a designation of any activities of the Commission for which multi-year budget authority would be suitable. October 1, 2011 ; or the date of enactment of an Act making a regular appropriation to the [Securities and Exchange] Commission for fiscal year 2012 [Div. C of Pub. L. 112–74 , approved Dec. 23, 2011 ].” Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the amendments made by this Act [see Short Title of 2002 Amendment note set out under section 78a of this title ] shall take effect on October 1, 2001 . the first day of fiscal year 2002; or thirty days after the date on which a regular appropriation to the Commission for such fiscal year is enacted. The authorities provided by section 6(b)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933 [ 15 U.S.C. 77f(b)(9) ] and sections 13(e)(9), 14(g)(9), and 31(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [ 15 U.S.C. 78m(e)(9) , 78n(g)(9), and 78ee(k)], as so designated by this Act, shall not apply until October 1, 2002 .” Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to transactions in securities that occur on or after October 1, 1997 . The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to transactions described in section 31(d)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [subsec. (d)(1) of this section] (as amended by subsection (a) of this section) that occur on or after September 1, 1997 .” the term ‘Commission’ means the Securities and Exchange Commission; the term ‘national securities association’ means an association that is registered under section 15A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78 o –3); and the term ‘national securities exchange’ means an exchange that is registered as a national securities exchange under section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78f ). Notwithstanding section 31(j) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78ee(j) ), and subject to subsection (c) of this section, if a national securities exchange or a national securities association has paid fees and assessments to the Commission in an amount that is more than the amount that the exchange or association was required to pay under section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78ee ) and, not later than 10 years after the date of such payment, the exchange or association informs the Commission about the payment of such excess amount, the Commission shall offset future fees and assessments due by that exchange or association in an amount that is equal to the difference between the amount that the exchange or association paid and the amount that the exchange or association was required to pay under such section 31. Subsection (b) shall apply only to fees and assessments that a national securities exchange or a national securities association was required to pay to the Commission before the date of enactment of this Act [ May 24, 2018 ].” The Office of Economic Analysis of the Securities and Exchange Commission (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Office’) shall conduct a study of the extent to which the benefits of reductions in fees effected as a result of this Act [see Short Title of 2002 Amendment note set out under section 78a of this title ] are passed on to investors. consider the various elements of the securities industry directly and indirectly benefiting from the fee reductions, including purchasers and sellers of securities, members of national securities exchanges, issuers, broker-dealers, underwriters, participants in investment companies, retirement programs, and others; consider the impact on different types of investors, such as individual equity holders, individual investment company shareholders, businesses, and other types of investors; include in the interpretation of the term ‘investor’ shareholders of entities subject to the fee reductions; and consider the economic benefits to investors flowing from the fee reductions to include such factors as market efficiency, expansion of investment opportunities, and enhanced liquidity and capital formation. Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act [ Jan. 16, 2002 ], the Securities and Exchange Commission shall submit to the Congress the report prepared by the Office on the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a).”