SUMMARIES OF SELECTED CASES Tax Administration’s (SKAT) production plan for 2013. The journalist had written to the Ministry that the Ministry would be using illegal methods if the Ministry were to split the production plan up when giving the media access to it, that he wanted access to the entire production plan and that the Ministry would be ‘saddled with an Ombudsman case’ if his request for access were denied. Subsequently, a special advisor from the Ministry of Taxation made a telephone call to the journalist. The journalist recorded the telephone conversation, and when he complained to the Ombudsman, he included an audio file of the conversation. Firstly, the Ombudsman noted that the Ministry had not considered and made a decision on the journalist’s request for access to the production plan. The Ombudsman found this to be very regrettable. Furthermore, the Ombudsman stated, based on the audio file of the telephone conversation between the journalist and the special advisor, that the reaction of the Ministry of Taxation (by the special advisor) on the telephone to the journalist’s request was completely unacceptable. In this connection, the Ombudsman attached importance to the fact that ­during the telephone conversation, the special advisor had made remarks about what had ‘provoked’ him, what he had perceived as ‘aggressive’, what he had ‘experienced’ other journalists doing in regard to ‘demanding things in that specific manner’ and how he experienced being ‘threatened’ with an Ombudsman case. In addition to this, the special advisor’s remarks were likely to give the impression that the journalist’s request might affect the future working relationship between the Ministry and the journalist. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, there seemed to be a very disturbing lack of understanding as to what a special advisor’s role is (and specifically is not) in a situation such as this. In view of the Ombudsman’s assessment of the reaction of the Ministry of Taxation (by the special advisor) on the telephone, the Ombudsman found cause, pursuant to section 24 of the Ombudsman Act, to notify Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee and the Minister for Taxation of the case. Furthermore, the Ombudsman found cause to notify Parliament’s Fiscal Affairs Committee. The Ombudsman asked the Ministry of Taxation to inform him of any general actions which his statement might cause the Ministry to take. 135