If you’re one of those folks who are following the latest discussions about the fiscal troubles of the state, a word of advice: believe everything. Or nothing. Or something in between.

Spending and revenue estimates in Sacramento are always like the latest fad in fashion… they come and they go. They’re hip one day, tragically dated the next. That’s been true for years, way before Governor Schwarzenegger took office.

But few other chief executives have sparked so much chatter… and offered so many estimates about the budget… in so few days.

The latest guesstimate came on Monday, when Schwarzenegger told an audience in Garden Grove that the state budget is “$20 billion out of whack.” That would lead to a budget crisis second only in magnitude to the shortfall that helped spark the recall of former governor Gray Davis in 2003.

As of yesterday, the official word was that the governor was “speaking rhetorically.” Might that then mean that the governor’s numbers aren’t necessarily rooted in reality? After all, my handy Webster’s Dictionary offers one definition of rhetoric as “the use of exaggerated language; bombast.”

But today, Capitol reporters were told that the number could, in fact, be real.

“[Schwarzenegger] has internal estimates” that show as much as an additional $10 billion in budget red ink, according to gubernatorial press secretary Aaron McLear. “That’s why we need to start working on this now.”

McLear declined to reveal any more about those internal projections, though may have more later on whether this is a lack of revenue, an abundance of spending, or both.

But he did lay out a rationale for how you’d get to $20 billion:

The governor’s budget team believes that as of this winter the state faced a $7.4 billion deficit in fiscal year beginning in July, down from $16 billion and thanks to a series of possible money saving proposals were enacted. Add to that $2.8 billion, says Schwarzenegger spokesman McLear, for the governor’s desired rainy day fund. Then add on the still nebulous $10 billion in new problems… and you get pretty close to $20 billion.

Of course, the rainy day fund isn’t really part of the deficit… i.e., an actual shortfall in revenues or an abundance of mandatory expenditures. Take that out and the governor’s new number maxes out at a little more than $17 billion.

Now, the caveats. We’re still waiting for a clearer picture of revenues. And while the April 15 checks are still being totaled over at the Franchise Tax Board, there’s new word that things might be looking better than (or not so bad as) expected. That, however, is only one piece of the revenue pie: there are also corporate tax revenues and sales tax revenues that figure into the issue.

But if the deficit projections start inching toward the big two-oh, it’s hard to see how even the governor’s 10% across-the-board cuts (strongly opposed by Democrats) would erase the problem. And yes, that probably brings us back to a debate over some kind of a ____ increase.

You can fill in the blank, can’t you?

It looks like the flow of moneycoming in to state coffers has picked up as personal income tax returns are processed, but there’s still a long ways to go.

As mentioned last week, Controller John Chiang has a new page on his website where you can see (with a time lag) the tax revenues come in each day in April. You may have mailed your check on time, but it takes a while for all of that cash to be processed.

New data shows Monday was the biggest day so far in April, with almost a net of $1.6 billion in tax dollars (that’s the amount after refunds). That brings the total for the fiscal year up to almost $40 billion.

But the burning question is: will this be enough? Governor Schwarzenegger’s current budget plan predicts that total will be $45.3 billion by the end of the month. That means the state still has a way to go as all of those remaining envelopes are opened at the Franchise Tax Board.

Yes, it’s April 15th. Yes, it’s not a fun day for those of us (myself included) who wrote a check to the state. But this year, it’s even worse if you’re a state lawmaker trying to balance the books for the fiscal year that’s about to begin.

New data out today from the budget shop of Governor Schwarzenegger shows that revenues collected in March for the state’s General Fund were $912 million less than expected for the month… and as a result, total revenues for the year are almost $1.2 billion behind projections. Keep in mind that those revenues come from several sources, only one of which is personal income taxes; corporate tax revenues were also down, for example.

But in April, it’s personal income taxes that everyone cares about. After all, this is the month where most of those taxes are paid for the year. And the presence (or lack thereof) of those revenues are why state budget writers go back and revise their proposals in May… just weeks before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

Every day this month, the folks at the Franchise Tax Board are opening those tax envelopes and adding up the totals on the checks. This is a process budget wonks have been keeping tabs on for years. This time, however, it’s easy for anyone to monitor. Controller John Chiang has a new page on his website where daily preliminary tax receipts are being released.

In other words, you can see for youself how much is coming in… and how it compares to the tax revenues that came in during April of last year.

As of yesterday, the site shows almost $1.6 billion in personal income taxes have been mailed in this month. That seems to be running slightly ahead of 2007 (though the report is lagging by a day or so). No data has yet been entered for today. And remember, just because you mail it by tonight… the folks at the FTB may not actually get it in their hands for a few more days.

It will be interesting over the next two weeks to watch these totals, and to see just how in the hole the state really is. Remember, most everyone assumes that the budget-balancing actions taken by the governor and Legislature earlier this year may have only solved about half of a problem estimated at near $16 billion.

But remember, revenues were already behind projections when April began. And the governor’s budget assumes a whopping $12.1 billion in personal income tax revenues will come in this month alone. How close will we get? The controller’s website will have some answers over the coming days.

With April 15 right around the corner, state tax officials have released their list of the biggest tax debts owed to the Golden State… and it’s hard to miss the name of O.J. Simpson coming in at #15.

Actually, the official list from the state Franchise Tax Board lists him as “Orenthal Simpson” of Miami, Fla. The notorious celebrity owes taxes and penalties totaling $1,527,925.92.

There aren’t many other instantly recognizable names on the list, though a little searching revealed that one of those fingered by FTB officials is Altovise Davis, wife of the late singer/actor Sammy Davis, Jr. She comes in at #8 on the public list, with a state tax debt of $2,708,901.75.

The list of tax debts adds up to some $123 million in money owed to state government. Granted, that’s not much when compared to a current budget deficit of at least $8 billion. But tax officials say what’s fair is fair, and the list is publicized in hopes of, well, embarrassing some of these folks into coming forward.

Something tells me, though, that it might be hard to embarrass O.J. at this point.

The full list is here.