Hall

Three actions were consolidated for trial and this is an appeal from the judgment in those actions which denied appellants tax refunds after additional assessments were levied for the years 1951 and 1952.

Appellants, the only partners in the Sacramento Novelty Company, filed partnership returns for the years 1951 and 1952. After audit, the respondent determined that neither the partnership returns nor the individual returns filed by the appellants for those years reported the total gross income as required by Revenue and Taxation Code section 17359 (now numbered 17297) which taxes the total gross income of certain illegal activities, disallowing any deductions from the gross figure when determining the net or taxable income. Respondent determined that appellants had reported only 30 percent of the gross, and issued notices of proposed assessments plus penalties and interest. After protests were denied by respondent, appellants appealed to the State Board of Equalization ■which affirmed the assessments but reduced them on the basis of a determination that the location owners who handled appellants’ illegal machines were joint venturers with appellants and therefore only half of…