Effective Designs for Taxpayer Notices

Effective Designs for Taxpayer Notices

Whitney Quesenbery Center for Civic Design @civicdesign | @whitneyq Utah Association of Counties April 29, 2015

Washington State Confirma1on Le3er

Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Revised Confirma1on Le3ers, ClearMark winner, 2010

Unum – How to File a Disabilty Claim ClearMark award winner, 2012

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Center for Civic Design with the Minnesota Secretary of State, 2009 slideshare.net/whitneyq/minnesota-‐ absentee-‐clarity2010

Information can be §  technically accurate,

§  legally accurate, §  legally sufficient

and also §  clear and understandable

§  affordable to produce

There's a lot of forces behind difficult-to-read information

Working in legal markup

Photos, Jenny Greeve, Accessible Vo1ng Technology Ini1a1ve

Not enough active team design opportunities

Poster from Washington State, Jenny Greeve More about usability tes1ng at slideshare.net/whitneyq/need-‐a-‐li3le-‐usability

Not enough testing with real citizens

Plain language? helps people

find what they need understand what they find and use the information well

Plain information is important because people...

§  have different degrees of literacy §  do not always read carefully. §  may have a cognitive disability §  or a visual disability that can affect

reading. §  may not know (or read) the language

well

43% of Americans have a reading disability

Below basic

30 million

14%

Basic

63 million

29%

Intermediate

95 million

44%

Proficient

28 million

13%

U.S. Na1onal Assessment of Adult Literacy h3p://nces.ed.gov/naal/kf_demographics.asp

People react to hard-to-read text

§  too much text ignored or skipped

§  hidden steps miss important actions

§  jargon and unfamiliar words misinterpret meaning

§  instructions in the wrong place make mistakes

§  passive voice (ambiguity) guess what to do

Write for your audience §  Use simple, everyday

words

§  Avoid jargon abbreviations and legalisms

§  Speak directly to the audience: use pronouns like “you”

The text in the image says: Living with MS. Whether you just received a diagnosis of MS or have been living with it for a long 1me—this sec1on is filled with informa1on and 1ps on how to maintain your quality of life in the years ahead. Read about strategies to enhance your health and wellness, maximize your produc1vity and independence, and deal with emo1onal, social, and voca1onal challenges.

Speak directly to the reader §  Even if the reader

may be people in several different roles, you can talk to them all as "you"

na1onalmssociety.org

Organize information logically

§  Place instructions where they are needed

§  Put instructions in order

§  Put the “if” before the “then”

§  Each step in its own paragraph

Establish context and requirements Make sure people know what they have to do §  To get ready §  To complete an

action

Put instructions in the right order Draw a triangle on top of an upside down “T”

Did you draw a pine tree or a wine glass?

Write for action §  Write in active voice

(the person comes before the verb)

§  Tell people what to do, rather than what not to do

§  Make actions stand out

Use active voice and clear instructions!Tell voters what to do rather than what not to do""Before!"If that oval is not marked, your vote cannot be counted.""After!"You must fill in the oval for your vote to count"

"Put the person doing the action before the verb""Before!"Moving ahead is accomplished by touching the word Next""After!"To go forward in the ballot, touch Next"

Can users interpret and act on the information?

h3p://www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu/hccpquiz.pl

Keep it as short as possible §  Short, common words

§  Short sentences

§  Short paragaraphs

What are the words that taxpayers might not understand?

§  Delinquent §  Tax sale §  Payoff §  Real property

§  What other questions do you hear in your offices?

Design for easy reading §  Use Mixed Case in text

and names (not ALL CAPITAL LETTERS)

§  Use bold for emphasis

§  Use lists and tables.

§  Choose one readable font

Design helps with understanding §  Bullets §  Bold §  Illustrations

When people can't understand government information, they think that it is difficult, confusing, and complicated.

Designing effective tax notices Disclaimer: I am not a tax expert. I hope to spark ideas that will help you think about how to make tax notices work better in your county, with your laws, and your taxpayers.

Make it easy to see key information

Group related information logically

Owner name(s) Trancygier, Joseph V Mortgage company paying taxes

None

Property owner and taxpayer Property informa1on Parcel number 00-‐0001-‐3480 Address or legal decrip1ons See the other side of this form

Tax district 001-‐Morgan County Are back taxes owed?

No back taxes are owed

Tax status

Make text easy to scan Good Be3er

Maybe even better? §  Use bullets for lists

alternatives, options

§  Make headings large enough to see

§  Left-justify text §  Make headings

meaningful. Avoid "Important" or "Please note..."

§  Mixed Case

How to pay your taxes You can pay your taxes: •  By mail

Name County Treasurer 50 S. Main Street, Fillmore, UT 84631-‐5504

•  In person County Courthouse, 50 S. Main Street, Fillmore County Office Building, 71 S. 200, W. Delta

•  Online h3p://www.countyutah.net

Do not send cash in the mail Make checks payable to: County Treasurer Payments procedures, op1ons, receipts, returned checks, and delinquencies (amounts you owe) on the back County offices will be closed: Thanksgiving Day, Nov 27, 2014 and Friday Nov 28, 2014 2014 Budget hearings •  Name County, Dec 2, 7:00pm, 50 S. Main St, Fillmore •  M C Fire Service, Dec 17, 715pm, 45 E 100 S, Fillmore •  D-‐S-‐O Cemetery, Dec 3, 7:00pm, 81 S Manzanita Ave, Delta •  H-‐D Cemetery, Dec 11, 7:00pm, 161 E 200 N, Hinkley •  W M Mosquito Abate, Dec 15, 7:00pm, 1050 W. 100 N, Delta

How to pay your taxes

Make sure your conversation is clear. Cut "noise words."

How might we make these notices both friendly and clear? •  What are the key

messages? Can they be listed in separate paragraphs or bullets?

•  Who is this notice to? Talk directly to the reader.

•  What terms might need to be defined?

•  Can we make the sentences shorter and easier to read?

"

How might we explain tax penalties more clearly? §  What is the

sequence of events? Put the "if" before the "then"

§  Can each rule or action be listed separately?

§  What can the taxpayer do, and when?

By state statute, property taxes are due on or before December 01, 2014. If payment is made or postmarked aier the due date, the GREATER of a $10.00 or 2.5% penalty per tax no1ce will be added to the tax amount. If ALL 2014 delinquent taxes are paid in full prior to January 31, 2015, the penalty will be reduced to the greater of $10.00 or 1$ of the tax amount. If you have delinquencies for 2010, your property will be subject to tax sale by public auc1on in 2015 if the taxes are not paid in full by March 15, 2015. An upaid tax is a lien upon the owner's real property as of 12 o'clock noon on January 1 of each year. If you have paid your taxes, please disregard this no1ce.

Download the manual from civicdesign.org or cavotes.org

Field Guides To Ensuring Voter Intent

Research commissioned by EAC

Research supported by MacArthur Foundation



Field Guides series

Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent

Get in touch! Whitney Quesenbery [email protected] @whitneyq civicdesign.org @civicdesign

Effective Designs for Taxpayer Notices

Design

Transcript of Effective Designs for Taxpayer Notices