The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the new watchdog panel that was spawned by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, met on Thursday to determine a formula that will cover funding for the group without directly costing the taxpayers anything.

The plan calls for fees to be paid by U.S. and foreign private companies with market capitalizations of more than $25 million and investment companies with net asset values of more than $250 million. The fees collected from the companies will cover the entire budget of the PCAOB, including the controversial salaries of the board members. The PCAOB board chairman is to make $560,000 per year and board members will make $452,000 per year.

The PCAOB was launched late last year with a $1.9 million loan from the Treasury Department. The organization plans to repay the loan.

Public comment on the capitalization plan has been requested and may be offered now until April 4. You can find more information about the proposed fee plan at the PCAOB Web site.