SEC To Cut Securities Transaction Fees

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

20 February 2007

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Christopher Cox announced on Friday that, starting this week, the agency will sharply cut the fees charged to public companies and other issuers for securities transactions and registrations.

"The investors who bear the burden of these SEC fees deserve this relief," explained Cox, adding that:

"It will mean that more of their hard earned savings will be available for important needs such as education, health care, and retirement — and less will be diverted to Washington."

The SEC sets registration and transaction fees according to the Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief Act.

The fee cuts that came into effect today are significant: fees to register securities with the Commission will be reduced by 71.3%, and fees on securities transactions will be reduced by 50.2%.

In addition, effective March 17, 2007, the Section 31 fee rate applicable to securities transactions on the exchanges and over-the-counter markets will decrease to $15.30 per million dollars.

Further, pursuant to Section 31, the Commission will determine no later than March 1, 2007 whether a mid-year adjustment to the Section 31 fee rate will be necessary. The Section 31 assessment on security futures transactions also will decrease to $0.0042 per round turn transaction, effective March 17, 2007.

However, the adjusted fee rates will not affect the amount of funding available to the Commission.

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