Final answer:
Government debt is the total amount owed by a government and is different from a budget deficit, which is the shortfall of revenues compared to expenditures in a fiscal year.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that government debt can be defined as the amount that expenditures exceed revenues on the budget for a given year is false. This description actually defines a budget deficit, not government debt. Government debt, also known as the national debt, is the total amount of money a government owes, accumulated over time through budget deficits. A deficit occurs when the government spends more money than it receives in taxes in a given fiscal year. Conversely, a budget surplus occurs when the government collects more in taxes than it spends. If both are equal, the budget is balanced. It's important to distinguish between these two terms, as they refer to different financial conditions.