HB 7061 (Ways and Means) and CS/SB 7068 (Finance and Tax) are the tax packages for the 2021 Session. The bills include a back-to-school and a disaster preparedness sales tax holiday. HB 7061 also includes a “recreation” tax holiday. The bills expand the current property tax discount from 50% to 100% for certain multifamily projects that provide affordable housing for low-income families. Other property tax changes in the bill include clarifying the application of an exemption from ad valorem taxation for portions of property used for charitable, religious, scientific or literary purposes; requiring the tax collector to accept late payments on the first installment of prepaid property taxes; and (in SB 7068) repealing the hospital community benefit reporting and creating two additional situations when a change in the ownership of homestead property would not result in the property being reassessed at just value. SB 7068 also clarifies that when a property is damaged or destroyed by a calamity,  ancillary improvements may also be repaired or replaced without the improvement being assessed at just value and that the assessment made for repaired or replaced property must be calculated based on the assessed value as of the January 1 immediately before the damage or destruction occurred. HB 7061 exempts structures and equipment used in the production of aquaculture products from separate ad valorem assessment. HB 7061 also allows that tourist development and convention development taxes can be used for flood mitigation projects at the discretion of local government and requires that all new or increased tourist development and convention development taxes must be approved by voters at a referendum. The bills also make a number of updates related to tax administration. HB 7061 passed the House (109-3) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Hughes)