Spurgeon

Plaintiff Gladys L. Spurgeon appeals from an adverse judgment in her action for refund of allegedly overpaid California state income tax. Plaintiff claims that: (1) defendant Franchise Tax Board (hereafter Board) erroneously calculated her income from the sale of an apartment building because it measured her capital gain in terms of “dollars,” without compensating for the dollar’s declining purchasing power; (2) the Board, as a creature of the state, is required by the federal Constitution to measure capital gain with reference to the value of gold or silver coin (see U.S. Const., art. I, § 10, cl. 1); and (3) Revenue and Taxation Code section 17071 is constitutionally infirm because it fails to give taxpayers adequate notice that capital gain is measured in “dollars.” We reject plaintiff’s contentions and affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

The essential facts, as set forth in the parties’ stipulation below, are as follows: In 1959 plaintiff purchased an apartment building for $109,000. In 1976, plaintiff sold the building for $152,000. In the interim plaintiff took deductions on her personal income tax returns for depreciation in the amount of $31,543.27.

In…