Fiscal burden of government
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In economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, the fiscal burden of government imposed onto its taxpayers is the influence of the tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 levied on the purchasing power of the taxpayers.

The concept was introduced by an English clergyman and political writer John Brand
John Brand (political writer)
John Brand was an English clergyman and writer on politics and political economy.Brand was a native of Norwich, where his father was a tanner. Entering at Caius College, Oxford, he distinguished himself in mathematics, taking his B.A. degree in 1766 his M.A. degree in 1772...

. In his 1776 pamphlet, "Observations on some of the probable effects of Mr. Gilbert's Bill, to which are added Remarks on Dr. Price's account of the National Debt", he draw a distinction between "fiscal charge" and "fiscal burden". He argued that as long as prices steadily rose, though more money might be taken out of the taxpayer's pocket, the quantity of commodities which the sum levied by taxation would purchase steadily decreased, and thus if 'burden' were interpreted to be the amount of commodities of the power of purchasing which the community was deprived by taxation, its increase need not be and had not been at all proportionate to the increase of charge.

To quantify the fiscal burden and to draw comparisons of different countries, the concept of "fiscal burden of government ratio" is used. Calculated according to certain methodologies, it basically means that the lower the score, the lower the involvement of the government in the economics of the country.
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