Franking

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It has been suggested that Franked_mail be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Franking is also the passing of franking credits to shareholders in countries that have dividend imputation to reduce or eliminate double taxation of company profits.

An example of a franked mailing

Franking is the marking of mail by a company or government that offers free or low cost postage privileges, or the convenience of sending bulk mail without using normal postage stamps.

1 Franking privilege
2 Private franking
3 Governmental franking
4 Historic franking
5 Reference
6 External links

[edit] Franking privilege

Franking privilege, typically granted to certain elected officials by a government, is the privilege to send mail for free. A franking privileged person adds his or her signature or a facsimile thereof to the upper right corner of a letter or parcel in lieu of a postage stamp. Common uses of the franking privilege include replies to letters sent by constituents, and brief newsletters intended to keep citizens informed of the privileged member's activities. Elected officials and the postal service are both endowed by the taxpayer. Adding an official's mail to the existing mailstream does not change the total fixed cost of the postal system from the taxpayer's perspective, and avoids reciprocal accounting transactions. In practice, the franking privilege is applied to more than just the official mail necessary for the conduct of the office. Franking is an advantage of incumbency in US Congressional and Senate races due to the lower cost of mail.

[edit] Private franking

Businesses often frank mail with a franking machine, typically called a postage meter, allowing them to print a logo, advertising message, or return address in the area in which a stamp would normally be. These machines contain a specified amount of prepaid postage, which is reduced as each item is marked for posting.

[edit] Governmental franking

In countries where franking is practiced, the privilege has long been considered an important tool for keeping elected officials in touch with their constituents, but its use is also frequently criticized as a way for officials to campaign for reelection and otherwise glorify themselves at the expense of the taxpayer. Officials are usually not given a blanket right to send mail for free, but instead are subject to oversight and regulation and sometimes must comply with budgetary restrictions and disclosure requirements.

In April 2005 the Royal Mail in the United Kingdom introduced discounts to businesses using mail franking, perhaps in recognition of the reduced cost of processing these mailings. ^[1]

In the United States, the President, former presidents and their spouse or widow, members of the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives as well as certain congressional officials such as the Superintendent of Documents are allowed to send franked mail to their constituents. The Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, colloquially known as the Franking Commission, is responsible for oversight and regulation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Among other things, it has established a firm "Official Mail Allowance" for each Congressman, based proportionally on the number of constituents they serve.

In Canada, the Governor General, members of the Canadian Senate, members of the House of Commons, the Speaker of the Senate, Clerk of House of Commons, Parliamentary Librarian, Associate Parliamentary Librarian, Ethics Commissioner and Senate Ethics Officer all have franking privilege and mails sent to or from these people are sent free of charge. ^[2]

[edit] Historic franking

A limited form of franking originated in the British Parliament in 1660, with the passage of an act authorizing the formation of the General Post Office. In the United States, franking predates the establishment of the republic itself (the Continental Congress bestowed the privilege on its members in 1775), and the First United States Congress enacted a franking law in 1789 during its very first session. In the 19th century, as use of the post office increased significantly in Britain, it was expected that anybody with a Parliament connection would get his friends' mail franked.