Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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153. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has an estimate of the amount of funds to be raised through a levy on texting on mobile phones; the estimated amount to be raised through a 1 cent levy per text for the past five years [25241/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by ComReg that just over 12.3 billion SMS messages were sent in the 12 months ending 31 December 2012, and a total of some 59 billion were sent in the five years ending 31 December 2012. On the face of it, this would imply a potential yield over the last five years of c. €590m, and a yield in 2012 of c. €123m from a 1 cent levy on SMS messages. This yield cannot, however, be directly inferred from the SMS traffic figure, as the levy’s imposition could result in considerable behavioural impact among consumers, and could have significant implications for the charging arrangements of providers.

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. It must also be borne in mind that mobile phone calls and text messages are already subject to VAT at 23%. An additional flat rate levy of the order referred to by the Deputy on text messages could significantly increase the overall rate of taxation on accounts, particularly given that the average monthly spend per user is of the order of €35.