User Charges: An Analysis of Collection Trends 1997- 2004

The federal government collects user charges in order to link the costs of providing certain goods and services to those who most directly benefit from them. Because of the nation’s renewed interest in creating new revenue streams, the United States Government Accountability Office  the independent agency charged with studying the programs and expenditures of the federal government  asked the Capstone team to examine trends in user charge collection between 1997 and 2004. The Capstone team was given data containing all federal financial activity within this time period, which they used to identify trends in user charge collection by type, federal agency, and as a total amount compared to all federal outlays. The Capstone team detailed its findings in a report to GAO, which may promote discussion on the federal government’s attempt to recover cost of goods and services that are not purely public in nature.