Marathon Petroleum Company, LP v. Cook County Department of Revenue

Appeal from a circuit court reversal of an administrative law judge’s decision that upheld taxes and penalties imposed by the Cook County Department of Revenue pursuant to the Cook County Retail Sale of Gasoline and Diesel Tax Ordinances. The department imposed fuel taxes and penalties on the plaintiff for out-of-book transactions. On appeal, the department argued that the administrative law judge was correct when he found that the out-of-book transactions, even though they do not involve the physical delivery of fuel, still involve the transfer of an ownership interest as to that fuel and are taxable. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s judgment finding that the agency’s factual determinations were not against the manifest weight of the evidence; but also finding that the plaintiff had shown reasonable cause for its failure to pay taxes at the time of the sales so that the department improperly imposed penalties. (MIKVA and TAILOR, concurring)