Q&A: The US fiscal cliff
- Published
A deal on the so-called "fiscal cliff" has been reached.
A 31 December deadline focused the minds of politicians, but it came down to the wire.
The US only managed to pass legislation to impose higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans and postpone the start of big spending cuts on 1 January.
Failure to reach a deal would probably have sent the US economy back into recession.
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