rephrase: The yield on any two bonds can differ due to several factors beyond just their maturity. The primary determinant is the risk-free rate (the Treasury spot rate for a given maturity), which serves as a baseline. To this, various risk premiums are added. First is the credit risk premium, also known as default risk, which compensates investors for the possibility that the bond issuer might not make timely principal and interest payments. Bonds from financially weaker companies or governments will carry higher credit risk premiums than those from stable entities. Second, a liquidity premium is demanded for bonds that are less frequently traded or have smaller issue sizes, as investors require compensation for the potential difficulty and cost of selling the bond quickly at its fair market value. On-the-run Treasuries typically have the lowest liquidity premium. Third, the taxability premium accounts for differences in the tax treatment of bond interest. For example, municipal bonds offer tax-exempt interest income, allowing them to trade at lower yields than taxable corporate or Treasury bonds of similar credit quality. Finally, the embedded option premium reflects the value of any embedded options (like call or put features) that give either the issuer or the investor the right, but not the obligation, to take a specific action