Seven of the 30 largest U.S. corporations paid more money to their chief executive officers last year than they paid in U.S. federal income taxes, according to a study released on Tuesday that was disputed by at least one of the companies.
Negotiations on the looming "fiscal cliff" will dominate talk in Washington this month, with both the White House and congressional Republicans having made early offers.
The long, bumpy road to America's "fiscal cliff" has been traveled over many years by Congress and a series of U.S. presidents, including Barack Obama.