I'm starting to wonder if the second massive tax grab will finally catch up with Premier Dalton McGuinty.

It has become obvious that our Teflon Premier is starting to feel the heat on his plan to combine the PST with the GST and in the process raise the price of just about everything in this province by 8%.

McGuinty was first elected several years ago after he promised not to raise taxes. During the campaign he also pledged (in writing) to follow the Taxpayer's Protection Act, which mandated a referendum before any tax increase.

Immediately after winning a majority the Premier made it clear his promises aren't worth the paper they're printed on and he introduced the largest single tax grab in Ontario's history with his poorly named "health premium." The "premiums" were simply new income taxes with a fancy name.

Now McGuinty is back for round two with the HST. On July 1, 2010 the Harmonized Sales Tax will raise the price of just about everything by 8%. The fuel you put in your car. The fuel you use to heat your home. If you're getting a haircut it will suddenly cost 8% more.

If Liberal MPPs aren't nervous about this - they should be. McGuinty is ramming this change through the legislature by limiting any public debate on the matter. The Official Opposition led by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak walked out of Question Period on Monday to protest the lack of public hearings on the HST.

McGuinty is taking the sanctimonious tone that he knows better than voters. "The HST is good for everybody in the long run and it will be balanced by other income tax cuts," the Premier has been saying lately.

If you think the Premier's words are familiar - you would be right. Former Federal Liberal Leader Stephan Dion was saying almost the same thing about his proposed "Carbon Tax" during the last federal election. Dion's explanation was essentially this: "You may not like it, but I'm telling you it's good for you, so there."

How did that work out for Mr. Dion?

I would argue that McGuinty's HST is almost the same as Dion's Carbon Tax - without the fancy name. I think more citizens would accept this new tax if it only applied to luxury items like televisions, video game systems and indoor grills. By applying this new tax to essentials like home heating, electricity and fuel the government is creating the right conditions for a tax revolt.