Marathon Petroleum Co. v. County of Cook

This case presents question as to whether trial court properly reversed administrative law judge’s order that upheld taxes and penalties imposed on plaintiff by Cook County Department of Revenue pursuant to Cook County Retail Sale of Gasoline and Diesel Tax Ordinance arising out of plaintiff’s book-out transactions involving contracts where deliveries of fuel were to occur in future, under circumstances where there was no change in fuel location and no change in fuel inventories. Appellate Court, in reversing trial court, found that plaintiff had failed to rebut Department’s prima facie case that instant contracts were taxable sales under Fuel Tax ordinance. Appellate Court, though, reversed the Department’s imposition of penalties, where plaintiff’s decision not to pay said tax resulted in reasonable interpretation of ordinance.