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SEVERAL LAWS WERE REVISED: Discrepancies make it impossible for blind and visually impaired people to file tax returns without assistance. Photograph: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
The tax return cannot be used for blind and visually impaired people, says the Norwegian Directorate for Digitization.
It is the audit for universal ICT design in management that has taken a closer look at the digital solution for the old tax return.
The task of the audit is to ensure that network solutions aimed at the general public are usable for everyone, regardless of disability.
Of the 19 legal requirements for universal design that were tested, the tax return broke six of them. The Tax Administration now has until March 1, 2021 to rectify this. Otherwise, they risk being fined.
– The tax return is very important for all of us, especially to be able to use it ourselves and not depend on help. It was selected after a survey that showed people with disabilities struggle to use it, says supervisory director Malin Rygg.
The discrepancies apply to both form and encoding, which have particular consequences for blind and visually impaired users. Errors mean, among other things, that you cannot read the text that tells the user what to complete in a field or what errors have been completed.
In November, Nav was also asked to rectify similar deviations that violate the Equality and Discrimination Act.
The Association of the Blind: Creates great frustration
It is problematic that the blind and blind must have help using public self-service sites, says union leader Terje André Olsen of the Association of the Blind.
– They are pages that it is important to fill in correctly, and in which we cannot expect that there will be mitigating factors if they are filled in incorrectly because we cannot use them, he adds.
ASSOCIATION LEADER: Terje Andre Olsen in the Association for the Blind. Photo: Association of the Blind
Members of the association face challenges on a daily basis when using the websites of public bodies or businesses. Create great frustration, confirms Olsen.
– It prevents us from being independent in our life. I think some people just skip filing because it gets too complicated. Now I hope that the Tax Administration takes action and corrects it, says the union leader.
He believes that it is important that those responsible for developing and maintaining websites involve people with universal design experience from the beginning.
The Tax Administration is very concerned that our services are universally designed and available in accordance with regulations, says the director of the division of dialogue with users in the Tax Administration, Marta Johanne Gjengedal.
– The tax return must be able to be read, completed and delivered by all residents who have income or assets, so we are very concerned that everyone can complete it. It is important that such universal design audits are carried out. It helps us to obtain better solutions for all. We will make the necessary changes that the management has indicated within the term.
Digdir: There is still a long way to go
The requirements for universal design were imposed by law as of January 1, 2020 for network solutions manufactured after 2014.
Starting in 2021, they will apply to all online solutions, public and private, aimed at the general public. That is, everything from online newspaper and ticket applications to sickness benefit forms on Nav’s websites.
Rygg from the Norwegian Directorate for Digitization points out that Norway has done a lot, but we still have a long way to go.
– A person with a disability will be able to get up in the morning and read a newspaper, buy a bus ticket, take the elevator at the workplace, connect to the PC to use the work tool and receive a message through the application to parents at night. It is important that all these parts work and we are not there yet. That is why we organize a charity event to get everyone involved.
