TORONTO - Ontario's Liberal government expected to earn nearly $1.6 billion by adding the HST to consumer energy costs.
Documents obtained by the New Democrats show adding the eight per cent provincial portion of the HST to energy costs would rake in an estimated $1.57 billion in its first year.
The NDP points out the 2009 estimate of HST revenues was based on lower energy and gasoline prices than people are paying now.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the Liberal government tried to hide the true impact of the HST on people.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says consumers are better off because the HST was combined with tax cuts, tax credits and cheques for some families to offset the impact of the new tax.
The NDP has been campaigning hard to have the HST removed from diesel, fuel oil, natural gas, gasoline and electricity bills.
Rising electricity bills prompted the government to introduce 10 per cent rebates starting this year, at a cost of $1 billion, in order to reduce voter anger in advance of this October's election.
However, the NDP says the rebates will last a maximum of five years, and the party still wants the HST removed from energy costs.
