Tri-America Oil Co. v. Department of Revenue

Decision Date25 May 1984
Docket NumberNo. 59162,TRI-AMERICA,59162
Citation80 Ill.Dec. 93,464 N.E.2d 1076,102 Ill.2d 234
Parties, 80 Ill.Dec. 93 OIL COMPANY, Appellant, v. The DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE et al., Appellees.
CourtIllinois Supreme Court

Page 1076

464 N.E.2d 1076
102 Ill.2d 234, 80 Ill.Dec. 93
TRI-AMERICA OIL COMPANY, Appellant,
v.
The DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE et al., Appellees.
No. 59162.
Supreme Court of Illinois.
May 25, 1984.

[102 Ill.2d 236] Berkson, Gorov & Levin, Ltd., Chicago, for appellant; Arthur M. Gorov, Norman N. Berkson, Chicago, of counsel.

Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Chicago, for appellees; Kathleen M. Lien, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chicago, of counsel.

SIMON, Justice:

The plaintiff, Tri-America Oil Company, is both a wholesale and retail seller of gasoline. It owns and operates three gas stations from which it sells gasoline to the general public at retail. During the period in question here, January 1975 through December 1977, it also owned 20 to 25 other stations which it leased to independent dealers who purchased gasoline at wholesale from Tri-America and resold the gasoline at the leased stations at retail for use and consumption by the public.

Tri-America did not pay taxes under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (Ill.Rev.Stat.1975, ch. 120, par. 440 et seq.) and the

Page 1077

[80 Ill.Dec. 94] Municipal Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (Ill.Rev.Stat.1975, ch. 24, par. 8-11-1) on sales to any of the leased stations. It claimed that these were exempt from the taxing statutes as sales for resale and not sales for use and consumption. During an audit by the Department of Revenue, Tri-America produced proper resale or registration numbers issued by the Department for all but one station in Chicago. The exception was a station leased from Tri-America and operated by Miguel and Alfonso Chavez (Chavez). Chavez neither applied for nor received a resale tax number from the Department of Revenue, and it is clear that no taxes have been paid on the gasoline which Tri-America sold to the station operated by Chavez.

The Department made an administrative determination assessing unpaid taxes, interest and penalties under [102 Ill.2d 237] the above statutes against Tri-America on sales it made to Chavez. This determination was set aside by the circuit court of Cook County in a proceeding for administrative review filed by Tri-America. The decision of that court was in turn reversed by the appellate court (117 Ill.App.3d 774, 73 Ill.Dec. 257, 454 N.E.2d 1). We granted Tri-America leave to appeal to this court (87 Ill.2d R. 315).

Section 1 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act provides in pertinent part:

" 'Sale at retail' means any transfer of the ownership of or title to tangible personal property to a purchaser, for the purpose of use or consumption, and not for the purpose of resale in any form * * *.

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    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
    • 24 Maggio 2007
    ... ... 64, 535 N.E.2d 829 (1989); Jacobson v. Department of Public Aid, 171 Ill.2d 314, 323, 216 Ill.Dec. 96, 664 N.E.2d 1024 ... ...
  • Burke v. Board of Review
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • 1 Maggio 1985
    ... ... BOARD OF REVIEW, Illinois Department of Labor, Defendants-Appellants ... (McCartin, McAuliffe, Mechanical ... 231, 367 N.E.2d 684; see Tri-America Oil Co. v. Department of Review (1982), 117 Ill.App.3d 774, 777, 73 ... ...
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    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • 30 Dicembre 1985
    ... ... J. Thomas JOHNSON, Director of Revenue of the Department of ... Revenue of the State of Illinois, ... 120, par. 441c ...         In Tri-America Oil Co. v. Department of Revenue (1984), 102 Ill.2d 234, 80 Ill.Dec. 93, ... ...
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    • 27 Agosto 1990
    ... ... Roger D. SWEET, Director, and the Department of Revenue of ... the State of Illinois, Defendants-Appellees ... No ... 724] from accommodation and good-will motives. In Tri-America Oil Co. v. Department of Revenue (1984), 102 Ill.2d 234, 80 Ill.Dec. 93, ... ...
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