fiscal burden

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The total amount of money that a government must raise through taxes or borrowing, or the strain this places on a country's finances.

   Grammar: Countable; use a/an or the, and it can be plural: fiscal burdens.

   Patterns

   • a fiscal burden on someone/something
   • the fiscal burden of something
   • reduce/increase the fiscal burden

   The new healthcare program has become a heavy fiscal burden on the state budget.

   Many economists argue that an aging population will increase the fiscal burden in the coming decades.

   The government is looking for ways to reduce the fiscal burden on small businesses.

2. 2nouncountable

   The cost, in taxes or public spending, that a particular policy or group places on a country's finances.

   Grammar: Countable; often used with 'on' to show who or what carries the cost.

   Patterns

   • the fiscal burden on taxpayers
   • a fiscal burden for future generations
   • shift the fiscal burden onto someone

   The proposed tax cut would shift the fiscal burden onto local governments.

   Politicians rarely agree on who should bear the fiscal burden of environmental regulations.

   The report measures the fiscal burden that each industry places on the public purse.

Word forms

Common combinations

heavy fiscal burden

The war left a heavy fiscal burden that took years to repay.

reduce the fiscal burden

They promised to reduce the fiscal burden on middle-income families.

fiscal burden on taxpayers

Any new spending plan must consider the fiscal burden on taxpayers.

share the fiscal burden

The agreement asks richer provinces to share the fiscal burden more equally.

fiscal burden of an aging population

The fiscal burden of an aging population is a major concern in many countries.

Synonyms and how they differ

tax burden

Tax burden focuses specifically on the weight of taxes on people or businesses, while fiscal burden can also include government borrowing and spending.

financial burden

Financial burden is broader and can refer to any money-related strain, not just government finances.

public debt

Public debt is the total money a government owes; fiscal burden is the ongoing strain of raising or spending money.

Word family

fiscal adjective

Relating to government money, taxes, or public spending.

burden noun

A heavy load or difficult responsibility.

burdensome adjective

Causing difficulty or worry, especially because of cost or effort.

Commonly confused: fiscal burden or physical burden? fiscal burden or fiscal year?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “fiscal burden”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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