Illinois Ruling on Fuel Tax Allays Gas Industry’s Worst Fears

The Illinois Supreme Court recently handed Marathon Petroleum Co. a narrow win, relieving the oil and gas industry’s concerns of an explicit ruling that cash-only transactions are subject to fuel taxes.

The petroleum refiner and distributor asked the state justices to overturn a 2022 state appeals court ruling that the Cook County Department of Revenue properly taxed “book-out transactions,” which involved paying cash to settle a contract to deliver fuel on a specific date.

The justices held Nov. 21 that the underlying administrative law judge’s decision upholding the $15 million assessment was based on a misunderstanding of Marathon’s evidence. It ...