Have taxes become too easy? Looking at how engaged and experienced young adults are towards taxes.

Abstract

This thesis aims to present insight into how young adults experience and understand the concepts of taxes and the Norwegian tax system. This insight is used to research the question of how to increase engagement towards digitized public services. The thesis will describe how young adults lack of engagement have some clear causes and some possible solutions on how to increase the current level of engagement. The thesis will explore how aspects from the methodology of participatory design created a space to share knowledge and explore design ideas that increase tax engagement. The main research questions of the thesis focus on how to increase engagement, explore the current knowledge and engagement level of young adults, and the question presented in the heading of the thesis if taxes have become too easy. As mentioned the methodology used in this thesis project has been participatory design, and the associated methods and concepts have led the project to produce insight that can reflect the participant’s thoughts, ideas and knowledge. This research has shown that some young adults have a desire to know more about taxes, but they do not have the necessary engagement to educate themselves. The thesis will present some prototypes that aim to accommodate this desire. This research also shows some clear differences in level of knowledge among those who only have experience with the digitized tax system compared to those who also have experience with the older paper-based tax systems. What are the consequences of not having the engagement to educate yourself in a topic like taxes, that is such a significant factor in the Norwegian society? And can the insight and knowledge described in this thesis be used in cases other than the Norwegian tax system and young adults?