EDITORIAL: Kamala Harris has her own problem with the facts

Thanks in part to her racial demagoguery regarding Joe Biden and school busing in the recent Democratic debate, Sen. Kamala Harris has enjoyed a surge in the polls among progressives who might otherwise express displeasure at her tenure as a prosecutor putting bad guys behind bars.

Of course, Sen. Harris isn’t alone among politicians when it comes to spinning reality. Democrats like to point to President Donald Trump’s exaggerations and braggadocio as evidence of his aversion to the truth. But they also have plenty of issues with the facts. Consider Sen. Harris’s cynical deceptions when it comes to taxes.

Sen. Harris was an ardent foe of the Trump tax reform — not surprising, given her long affinity for spending other people’s money. In February, as Americans filed returns under the new law for the first time, she unleashed a predictable attack. “The average tax refund is down $170 compared to last year,” she tweeted. “Let’s call the president’s tax cut what it is: a middle-class tax hike to line the pockets of already wealthy corporations and the 1%.”

Class warfare is a well-worn arrow in the collectivist quiver. But Sen. Harris’s tweet should have a firm place in the pantheon of the biggest political whoppers of the year.

Last week, the IRS released statistics from tax returns filed through May 23 — which doesn’t include wage earners who sought extensions. Turns out those less likely to receive refunds were people making between $100,000 and $250,000, the Wall Street Journal reports. That would be the evil “rich,” per Sen. Harris.

In addition, the number of people receiving refunds was down by only 1 percentage point, and the average refund was virtually unchanged. The data also revealed that about two-thirds of households paid less under the Trump tax bill than they had the year previous. About 27 percent paid the same and 6 percent of households saw their tax obligations increase. A middle-class “tax hike”? Hardly, Sen. Harris.

Nevertheless, the Journal notes, “the tax law has remained mostly underwater ... partly because people are confused by the effects. An April Gallup poll found that just 14 percent of Americans thought their taxes went down.”

Could that be thanks to sympathetic media stenographers who eagerly abet Sen. Harris and other members of the Resistance when they spread misinformation about the GOP tax reform?

Sen. Harris’s tweet was idiotic on its face given that an individual’s income tax liability is a separate issue from any refund amount. It’s entirely possible to receive a lower refund — or even to owe money to the IRS — while having seen a reduction in your tax bill.

Thus, Sen. Harris is either economically illiterate or willing to unashamedly deceive and distort for political gain. Either way, it’s not comforting.