From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsliding scaleˌsliding ˈscale noun [countable usually singular] BJUDGEa system for calculating how much you pay for taxes, medical treatment etc, in which the amount that you pay changes according to different conditionson a sliding scale Fees are calculated on a sliding scale.
Examples from the Corpus
sliding scale• The Trotskyist movement has long advocated a sliding scale of wages to meet the rising cost of living.• Its correlative, a sliding scale of hours to meet unemployment, is now becoming timely.• The disparity between solar noon and mean noon widens and narrows as the seasons change, on a sliding scale.• The rest of the kitty will be divided among the other 21 clubs on a sliding scale in units of £35,000.• The fee is on a sliding scale according to value, and nobody who appraises for us is paid for it.• What was the going rate, his professional self asked, and was it adjusted to a sliding scale?• So it was that the trade emulated this sliding scale system for the populace at large.on a sliding scale• Charges will be assessed on a sliding scale according to the volume, nature and location of discharges.• Fees will be on a sliding scale, and there will be a creche available.• In both cases, the charges would be on a sliding scale, with environmentally-damaging practises attracting penal rates.• The disparity between solar noon and mean noon widens and narrows as the seasons change, on a sliding scale.• The rest of the kitty will be divided among the other 21 clubs on a sliding scale in units of £35,000.• Therapists' fees are figured on a sliding scale.• The fee is on a sliding scale according to value, and nobody who appraises for us is paid for it.• The cancellation fee is usually expressed as a percentage of the contract price, and varies on a sliding scale.From Longman Business Dictionarysliding scaleˌsliding ˈscale [countable] a system for paying tax, wages etc in which the rates that you pay are different, dependent upon changing conditionsWater rates will be raised on a sliding scale. → scale 