WooHoo NZ Tax Refunds

Website address

www.nztaxrefunds.co.nz

Judges’ comment

This is an excellent website that only just falls short of plain English standard. It is a fun and informative site, written well for most New Zealanders to understand at first reading. The judges particularly enjoyed the personable tone and upbeat quality of the writing.

Media statement

WooHoo NZ Tax Refunds are thrilled to be finalists for this year’s Best Plain English Website — Private Sector Award.

We strive to make the tax refund process simple for hard-working New Zealanders and our website plays a big part in achieving this. For many, the process is complex, daunting, and avoided, and we aim to change that by explaining tax and the entire process in the simplest way possible. Each year WooHoo NZ Tax Refunds helps hundreds of thousands of customers claim back what is owed to them. We have returned over $200 million in overpaid taxes back to Kiwis. The majority of these customers accessed their refunds via the WooHoo website, so it is imperative that we speak in a tone and manner that means they can understand the tax process and not be intimidated by it.

All of the pages on our website have been written with plain English as a priority. Particular care has been taken on the pages that explain the tax refund process. Where additional help is needed, customers can talk live to a Tax Expert via the site or find additional definitions of terms via simple hover-over tool tips. We use strong visual aids with clear copy to help explain the how the process works and what a customer is required to do.

In April of this year the WooHoo website was redesigned and the language used within it was refreshed. We are delighted that these efforts have been recognised by the Plain English Awards.

Chris Cameron