BRET HARTE INN, INC v. City and County of San Francisco

Opinion

SULLIVAN, J.

Defendant City and County of San Francisco appeals from a judgment granting recovery of certain personal property taxes paid under protest. The major question before us is whether an assessor, in determining full cash value pursuant to relevant constitutional and statutory provisions, may do so by simply discounting acquisition cost by a uniform 50 percent “depreciation factor.” We conclude that he may not; we affirm the judgment. .

The facts, as substantially disclosed by the fully supported findings of the trial court, are as follows: Plaintiff, a California corporation,…