Cook County Use Tax Suspended

The imposition of the Cook County Non-Titled Personal Property Use Tax ("Use Tax") has been successfully enjoined through Reed Smith's efforts. After oral argument was heard earlier today, Judge Lopez Cepero granted Reed Smith's motion for preliminary injunction in the matter of Reed Smith LLP and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce v. Zahra Ali*, which asserted that the Use Tax imposed on the value of personal property purchased for use in Cook County violated: (i) the Illinois Counties Code disallowing a home-rule unit from imposing a use tax on the selling or purchase price; (ii) the Illinois Constitution's prohibition against imposition of an ad valorem tax on personal property; and (iii) the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. Each of these arguments against the Use Tax has been discussed in detail in our earlier Alerts issued in  May and June.