Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 February 2012
38 Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he has considered the logistics and revenue-raising potential of a levy on SMS and MMS messages; if his attention has been drawn to the figure of €242 million that a 2 cent levy would generate based on current usage patterns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5514/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the 12 months to end September 2011, the last 12 month period for which figures are available, over 12 billion SMS messages and over 43 million MMS messages were sent in Ireland. This information is based on figures for mobile telephone usage per quarter supplied by the companies to the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). At those usage rates, a levy of 2 cent on such messages could raise c. €246 million per annum, which is in line with the figure indicated in the Deputy's question.
However, this potential yield does not take account of any behavioural impact if a levy was directly imposed on customers or imposed on the mobile phone companies and passed on to customers. Text messages are already subject to VAT at 23%. While any additional revenue would be welcome in the current circumstances, wider social and economic factors which may militate against the introduction of a further tax on text messages would also have to be taken into account. I am not aware of a similar tax anywhere else in the world. Although there are no plans to introduce such a tax at this time, all potential taxation measures are kept under review.
