House and Senate leaders said Thursday night that budget negotiators have reached agreement on tax breaks in the 2008-09 spending plan.

They include:

* Increasing the earned income tax credit for lower-income families from 3.5 percent of the federal credit to 4.5 percent.

* A repeal of the state gift tax.

* A property tax homestead exemption for fully disabled veterans.

* An extension of a tax credit for small businesses that provide health insurance to employees.

* A variety of small-business tax-fairness measures.

* A sales tax holiday for energy efficient products.

* Exempting some bakeries from sales tax.

* Reducing the tax on industrial machinery refurbishers.

The package provides a combined $50 million in tax breaks.

House and Senate leaders are working to reach agreement on a $21 billion state budget by Tuesday.

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