I’ve been reading a lot over the past few months about taxes in Pennsylvania, and admittedly, not much of it makes sense.

There’s been a longtime debate over eliminating property taxes and replacing them with increases in income and sales taxes to make up for the lost revenue.

And lately, there’s been chatter in Harrisburg about sales tax “holidays” that would allow certain items to be sold without charging the governor’s 6% cut.

I decided to take a closer look.

Under my microscope, these tax holidays look less like helping real people and more like political glitter.

They’re only proposals now — nothing concrete has been formally considered — and they’re sparkly and shiny enough to get some ink for their sponsors.

With a little more magnification, they’re nothing more than political promises.

Lawmakers say they’ll bring relief and growth — one even claims a holiday on firearms and ammunition offers sustenance to help put food on the table in his rural district.

Zoom in a little more, and the picture blurs.

A few months or a weekend without sales taxes doesn’t change anyone’s grocery bill, doesn’t help breathe life into a struggling town, and doesn’t change the state into a frontier-style place where venison’s the staple of any household’s nutrition.

What it does do is take away from the real issues — the drudgery of fixing a tax system that can’t fund schools without squeezing property owners.

These holidays appear almost irresistible, like a sugar rush that’ll leave you hungry again in an hour. They sound like action. Who would object to a 6% forgiveness on bicycles, baby gear, Halloween candy, grilles, fireworks or flags?

But the research has a painful outcome. Holidays don’t stimulate spending or help low-income families. They don’t boost the economy.

They just shift around planned purchases on the calendar. People who already planned to buy something just buys it in the tax-free period.

The state gives up revenue without giving residents anything meaningful in return.

Many lawmakers don’t see it that way. Instead, they deal with a tax structure that’s been patched over the years with compromises that don’t take on real issues.

Pennsylvania schools run on property taxes. Sales taxes hit low-income families hard, and income taxes are flat in an already wobbly system.

And now, lawmakers are proposing they carve out little pockets of tax freedom, setting aside time for pet food, prom attire, firearms and ammunition in the name of sustenance.

But none of that makes those in need food secure or school districts more financially stable. Seniors on fixed incomes don’t instantly become able to handle rising costs.

Instead, it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg.

These proposals are merely busywork for lawmakers who have trouble agreeing on real solutions. The property tax battle is still simmering, with our elected officials wrestling over eliminating property tax entirely and shifting the burden to income and sales tax increases. It’s not an easy issue.

So instead, taxpayers see a parade of symbolic tax relief that don’t sacrifice anything politically but costs the state real cash.

Dollars lost to tax holidays don’t go to schools, infrastructure or public services. It turns out that since the benefits are so small, the state ends up subsidizing things people were going to buy already.

If Harrisburg wants to really help families, they need to find ways to fund schools equitably and reduce reliance on property taxes. Maybe they can help low-income families with targeted tax credits and try to bring the tax code to something that can deal with today’s economy.

It’s not good enough to pretend that a few days without a sales tax on a rifle and some ammo keeps rural families alive. Hunting is a tradition that’s a way of life for many — it’s not the basis of our food system. And it’s certainly not a way to subsidize a functioning tax system.

After all, holidays are meant for family and friends, not for spreading political pyrite.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 45 years’ experience in community journalism.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.