The word "苛捐" is formed by combining the character "苛", meaning harsh, which is composed of the grass radical (艹) above and the phonetic component "可" below, with the character "捐", meaning tax or levy, composed of the hand radical (扌) on the left and the phonetic component "肙" on the right; together, they create a compound where "苛" modifies "捐" to specify harsh or oppressive taxes.