Shell Oil Co. v. Department of Revenue

The question on this appeal is whether a taxpayer whose protest has been upheld is entitled to interest income earned on the erroneously assessed taxes that by order of court were paid into a protest fund and held by the State Treasurer as trustee. We granted the plaintiffs’ petitions for direct appeal under our Rule 302(b) (73 Ill. 2d R. 302(b)).

In 1979, the Department of Revenue, pursuant to statutory provision (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 34, par. 409.1), assessed county retail occupation taxes against Shell Oil Company (Shell) on sales of jet fuel by Shell to American Airlines in 1974,…