Research Library

Texas lawmakers must address the misuse of anticipation notes — short-term debt securities used to raise money for public projects, writes John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance. Since they don’t require voter approval, politicians could use them to fund unwanted projects, he explains.

What’s the cheapest, quickest way to reduce climate change without roiling the economy? In the United States, it may be by reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

A new Senate bill "declares a position on most of the unclear yet critical issues" in regulating cryptocurrency, the author writes, on which industry participants have been requesting guidance for years. What are the key provisions in this bipartisan proposal? Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.

The author reviews recent developments in organized retail crime, as well as federal and state policy responses. Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.

Last week, the Joe Biden administration released a long-awaited executive order containing a government-wide outline for digital assets, focusing on cryptocurrency. The guidance is a welcome and timely development for both regulators and investors.

The federal government aims to narrow the $1 trillion gap between cryptocurrency taxes owed and those actually paid. Read how it's doing so in the Baker Institute Blog.

Methane emissions are both "extraordinarily bad" and "easy to fix," so why not address them now? A federal tax of $1,500 per metric ton emitted could curb and counter the impact of U.S. methane emissions, argues this commentary piece.

You may have read that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have introduced an extremely lucrative way to sell digital work, like art. Beyond the question "what's an NFT?" is how the sometimes-extraordinary proceeds are taxed. Center for Public Finance fellow Joyce Beebe explains in the Baker Institute Blog.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe examines a new approach that states have been exploring to secure additional revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic — imposing excise taxes on sports betting and daily fantasy sports. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/3jNT85Z

How should cloud computing be taxed? Fellow Joyce Beebe discusses how services like Dropbox and Gmail have both transformed daily life and complicated the taxation landscape. Baker Institute blog: https://bit.ly/2HqRgQ8