For the town in Upper Austria, see Franking, Austria. A franking credit is a nominal unit of tax paid by companies paying tax in countries that have a dividend imputation system. ... A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company (including a corporation), that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. ... Dividend imputation in the Australian tax system allows companies to attach franking credits to dividends paid. ... Double taxation is a situation in which two or more taxes may need to be paid for the same asset, financial transaction and/or income and arises due to overlap between different countries tax laws and jurisdictions. ... Profit is what is gained, after costs are accounted for. ... Upper Austria (Ober sterreich) is one of the nine federal states or Bundesl nder of Austria. ...

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. The practice dates back to the seventeenth-century British House of Commons. Franked letter from U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell to a constituent. ... Franked letter from U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell to a constituent. ... For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ... The United States Postal Service defines bulk mail broadly as quantities of mail prepared for mailing at reduced postage rates. ... Type Lower House Speaker of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Harriet Harman, QC, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May, PC, (Conservative) since December 6, 2005 Members 646 Political groups...

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. A selection of Hong Kong postage stamps A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ... Vintage German letter balance for home use Look up letter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a government. ... Fixed costs are expenses whose total does not change in proportion to the activity of a business, within the relevant time period or scale of production. ... It has been suggested that Accounting scholarship be merged into this article or section. ...

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. For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ...

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] Royal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. ...

In the United States, 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 6-member bipartisan 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 addition, former Presidents and their spouse or widow have franking privileges as well. Presidents who were convicted in the Senate as a result of impeachment proceedings do not have franking privileges after being forced to leave office. [1]. Sitting Presidents do not have franking privileges. Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal      The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... Constituent may mean; Constituent (linguistics) Constituent (politics) Category: ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ...

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] The Governor General of Canada (French (feminine): Gouverneure générale du Canada or (masculine) Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative in Canada of the Canadian monarch, who is the head of state; Canada is one of sixteen Commonwealth realms, all of which share the... The Senate of Canada (French: Le Sénat du Canada) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the House of Commons. ... The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ... The Speaker of the Canadian Senate (French: Président du Sénat) is the presiding officer of the Canadian Senate. ... The Office of the Ethics Commissioner of Canada is a Canadian government agency of Industry Canada. ...

History

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 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. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... // Events January 1 - Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration. ... The term General Post Office is or has been used by a number of postal and telecommunications governmental administrations worldwide, including: United Kingdom until 1969, see Post Office UK. After 1981 see Royal Mail for a continuing history of the British Post Office. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the United States, franking predates the establishment of the republic itself, as 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. Congress members would spend much time "inscribing their names on the upper right-hand corner of official letters and packages" until the 1860s for the purpose of sending out postage free mail. Yet, on January 31, 1873, the Senate abolished "the congressional franking privilege after rejecting a House-passed provision that would have provided special stamps for the free mailing of printed Senate and House documents." Within two years, however, Congress began to make exceptions to this ban, including free mailing of the Congressional Record, seeds, and agricultural reports. Finally, in 1891, noting that its members were the only government officials required to pay postage, Congress restored full franking privileges. Since then, the franking of congressional mail has been subject to ongoing review and regulation. The Continental Congress was the first national government of the United States. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... // Major events and legislation Senate and House of Representatives first convene (without quorum) in New York City, March 4, 1789 representing eleven States: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia House first met with quorum to elect first Speaker, April 1... Year 1789 (MDCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The phrase franking is derived from the Latin word "francus" meaning free. Another use of that term is speaking "frankly", i.e. "freely".

Because Benjamin Franklin was an early United States Postmaster General, satirist Richard Armour referred to free congressional mailings as the "Franklin privilege". Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... The United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. ... Richard Armour (1906–1989) was an American poet. ...

Reference

1. ^ Royal Mail – Postal options and advice. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.
2. ^ Canada Post – Paying for a Mailing, Product or Service. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• History of Franked Mail from the Senate.gov
• E050 Official Mail (Franked) from the United States Post Office
• infoplease
• US Codes
• Overview of the U.S. congressional frank and its history
• Canadian Parliament contact information
• Description of franked mail in the United Kingdom