A combination of rising taxes and cuts to government spending coupled with continued murkiness out of Europe could send the U.S. economy into a recession in the first quarter of next year, said Laurence Fink, CEO of asset management giant BlackRock.

At the end of this year, the Bush-era tax cuts and other tax breaks are scheduled to expire at the same time public-spending cuts kick in, a combination known as a fiscal cliff that could send the country into a recession next year if left unchecked by Congress, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Read more: BlackRock’s Fink: Recession Very Possible in Q1 of 2013