The tax administrations of different Swiss cantons, along with the entire public administration, are facing the challenge of increasing tasks while dealing with a reduction in the workforce. The number of tax returns to be processed increases by approximately 1% each year. To address this challenge, Ringler (Dr. Tax) collaborated with the Canton of Obwalden to develop a simplified digital tax department.
During the concept phase and interviews, we identified two major potential usability issues. First, the portal needs to cater to a diverse range of users, from “tax beginners” to “tax experts”, and from “digital literates” to “digital natives”. Second, the tool should allow collaboration with tax representatives or family members, which adds complexity to the personal account.
We conducted multiple user interviews and workshops with the tax department of Canton Obwalden, focusing on the topic of eGovernment. After creating three main personas, we defined the main use cases and prioritized them. Our user tests and research revolved around topics such as collecting and organizing documents, communication with the department, meeting deadlines for tax declarations and payments, support, and delegation.
Instead of designing the eTax Portal around the government's structure and backend, we organized the content around people. The solution offers a secure way to communicate with the tax department, organize documents, and meet deadlines in a guided manner. Keeping in mind that we were designing for a diverse user base, we made efforts to ensure that the user interface was accessible and the platform was inclusive.