Unless Congress or a court takes action, prices on some postal services – including the Forever stamp – will go down in April.
Although postal service prices are capped at the rate of inflation, the U.S. Postal Service was granted permission to use a 4.3 percent surcharge on some services, to help make up for some of their sharp drops in revenue. The surcharge was granted “citing the severe effects of the Great Recession on Postal Service mail volume,” said a statement from the postal service.
The surcharge was allowed until they collected a total of $4.6 billion, which is expected to happen Sunday, April 10, 2016.
If the surcharge is allowed to expire, the price of a first class stamp (letter) will drop from the current 49 cents down to 47 cents; additional ounces on letters will drop from 22 cents to 21 cents apiece. International letters will drop from $1.20 to $1.15, and postcards will drop from 35 cents to 34 cents.
Commercial prices will also decrease, according to a statement from the USPS.
The Postal Service anticipates it will only worsen their already-troubled financial situation.
“This mandatory action will worsen the Postal Service’s financial condition by reducing revenue and increasing its net losses by approximately $2 billion per year,” the statement said.
