Fiscal Cliff Bill Proposed By Senate Packed With Mix Of Handouts, Takebacks
WASHINGTON, Jan 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate packed an eclectic mix of handouts and takebacks into its last-minute deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff," including a measure to repeal part of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul and a string of special interest tax breaks.
At the center of the 157-page bill adopted early Tuesday are provisions to raise taxes on the wealthiest households and to make permanent Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class. The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
But senators also extended higher rum excise taxes to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and provided tax breaks to a wide range of other groups and interests, including motorsports entertainment complexes and mine rescue teams.
Among the other sweeteners:
* special expensing rules for certain film and TV productions
* tax-exempt financing for New York Liberty Zone, an area around the site of the World Trade Center.
* extension of American Samoa economic development credit
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