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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
Research supported by MacArthur Foundation
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