False.
Doing so would alter the chemical identity of the compound. The subscript is unique to the compound. For instance, [tex]S O_{3}^{\ 2-}[/tex], the sulfite ion, is different than [tex]S O_{4}^{\ 2-}[/tex], the sulfate ion.
This is proved by the law of definite proportions, aka Proust's Law, which says that the fixed ratio of elements in a compound is an intensive property of that compound.
When balancing, we only work with the coefficient in front of the molecule or atom. Additionally, we do not split polyatomic ions.
