In this paper, I argue that we should replace poorly designed fiscal rules constraining cities and other local governments. For example, instead of requiring a local supermajority to issue debt, localities should only be able to issue relatively safe forms of debt. Abolishing the old rule...

In this paper we develop and resolve a tension amidst several widely held – and sensible – general propositions concerning municipal public finance. On the one hand, local governments are supposed to be scrupulous protectors of public dollars. And yet there is also widespread agreement that...

This essay argues that U.S. state governments can permissibly levy state-level carbon taxes with border tax adjustments. In doing so, we respond to the general consensus that such a move would violate the dormant commerce clause

The 2017 tax legislation brought sweeping changes to the rules for taxing individuals and business, the deductibility of state and local taxes, and the international tax regime. The complex legislation was drafted and passed through a rushed and secretive process intended to limit public comment...

This white paper proposes a new tool — the development-rights auction — for inducing local governments to comply with state policies favoring high-density housing near transit and job centers. Local governments that rezone pursuant to state law would be permitted to auction, and thus profit...

This is the second of a series of essays wherein we analyze the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. In this essay, we address issues related to sales tax formalism and income tax nexus

Amici write to address specific matters of tax policy and history raised by this case. In particular, amici address 1) the history and justification for water's edge combined reporting (the “water's edge method”) and 2) the history and justification for the remedial provisions that are...

This is the first of a series of essays wherein we analyze the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. In this essay, we tackle some of the more immediate interpretive questions raised by the Wayfair opinion, such as how a state should approach substantial nexus. As part of our...