TAXES : Residents in Orange County Paid 10% of State Income Taxes in ’87

A report by the state Franchise Tax Board shows that Orange County residents, who account for 8.1% of the state’s population, paid 10.23% of the $11.56 billion in personal income taxes collected by the state for 1987--the most recent year for which figures are available.

In all, Orange County residents filed 982,342 California personal income tax returns for 1987--one for every 2.26 people in the county--representing 8.5% of the 11.56 million returns filed statewide.

They paid a total of $1.18 billion in state income taxes, an average of $1,208 per return and down slightly from the $1.19 billion paid in 1986. The dip in total taxes was caused by adjustments made in state tax law so that it would correspond to the federal income tax code changes that took effect in 1987.

(While the state collected 3.3% less personal income taxes in 1987 than in 1986, when the total was $11.9 billion, the federal government collected about 13% more than it did in 1986.)

The county’s share of state income taxes paid in 1987 was higher than its share of the population because the median income in Orange County is one of the highest in the state.

By comparison, San Diego County, with 8.3% of the state’s population in 1987, filed 7.8% of the state’s personal income tax returns and paid 6.9% of the state personal income taxes. San Bernardino residents, who accounted for 4.3% of the population, filed 3.6% of the individual returns and paid 2.5% of the personal income taxes. Los Angeles County, the biggest in the state with 30% of the population, accounted for 28.8% of the returns and 31.7% of the taxes.

Of the state’s 58 counties, Orange County ranked fifth in median income reported by people filing joint state income tax returns and seventh in median income of all taxpayers. The median income of the 433,577 joint returns filed by county residents in 1987 was $42,841--up 10.2% from the 1986 median of $38,864. Median income for all returns was $22,580, up 4.7% from $21,565 in 1986.

The top county in the state for median income on joint returns was Marin, at $50,508, followed by Contra Costa, $45,270; Santa Clara, $45,269, and San Mateo, $44,822.

Los Angeles County ranked 14th in median income on joint returns, at $33,878, up 4.6% from 1986.

COUNTIES RANKED BY MEDIAN INCOME For Tax Year 1987 Joint Returns

Rk. County Median Income % Change From ’86 1. Marin $50,508 5.93 2. Contra Costa 45,270 3.33 3. Santa Clara 45,269 4.36 4. San Mateo 44,822 3.31 5. Orange 42,841 10.23 6. Alameda 40,543 6.58 7. Ventura 39,550 4.65 8. Solano 37,879 4.79 9. Placer 35,595 5.21 10. Sonoma 35,549 3.34

All Taxpayers

Rk. County Median Income % Change From ’86 1. Contra Costa 26,117 2.49 2. Marin 25,696 4.21 3. San Mateo 25,387 2.95 4. Santa Clara 25,137 3.29 5. Solano 23,485 4.45 6. Ventura 22,691 3.46 7. Orange 22,580 4.71 8. Alameda 21,973 3.94 9. Placer 21,776 5.48 10. Napa 21,054 2.82

State Franchise Tax Board