Editing Calvin Coolidge (section)

===Taxation and government spending===
Coolidge adopted the taxation policies of his Secretary of the Treasury, [[Andrew Mellon]], who advocated "scientific taxation"—the notion that lowering taxes will increase, rather than decrease, government receipts.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Greenberg|2006|2pp=127–129}} Congress agreed, and tax rates were reduced in Coolidge's term.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Greenberg|2006|2pp=127–129}} 

In addition to federal tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring the [[United States public debt|federal debt]].{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Fuess|1940|2pp=382–383}} His ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and in 1924, Congress passed the [[Revenue Act of 1924]], which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for two million people.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Fuess|1940|2pp=382–383}} It reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of [[Revenue Act of 1926|1926]] and [[Revenue Act of 1928|1928]], while keeping spending down to reduce the overall federal debt.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=170}} By 1927, only the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers paid federal income tax.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=170}} Federal spending remained flat during Coolidge's administration, allowing one-fourth of the federal debt to be retired. 

State and local governments saw considerable growth, surpassing the federal budget in 1927.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=174}} In 1929, after Coolidge's series of tax rate reductions had cut the tax rate to 24% on those making over $100,000, the federal government collected more than $1 billion in income taxes, of which 65% was from those making over $100,000. In 1921, when the tax rate on those making over $100,000 a year was 73%, the federal government collected a little over $700 million in income taxes, of which 30% was from those making over $100,000.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Federal Taxation in the 1920s: A Re-examination|last=Rader|first=Benjamin|publisher=Historian|year=1971|pages=432–433}}</ref>