Reuters (11/28/12) Richard Cowan; Jeff Mason

The White House on Tuesday launched a public relations campaign over increasing taxes on wealthy Americans, but U.S. lawmakers remained deadlocked over the “fiscal cliff” tax increases and spending cuts. Several small-business owners met with President Obama to voice their support for his goal of extending low tax rates for the middle class beyond the end of this year, while letting rates rise for wealthier taxpayers. GOP legislators want to extend low tax rates for all taxpayers, including households earning more than $250,000 a year. Increasing taxes on the wealthy would discourage investment and hiring at a fragile time in the nation’s recovery, Republicans say.