Don’t think of it so much as a massive tax hike.

Just look on it as an “adjustment” in the fees you pay to drive your car in the province.

Yep, as of Sept. 1, in southern Ontario you’ll pay a whopping $120 for your licence plate renewal — up from $108.

In the North, it goes from $54 to $60.

Just five years ago, you were paying $74 — so the fees have been hiked by a cool 62%.

The government justifies this by saying they need the cash to pay for new roads and to maintain the ones we have.

What a lot of rubbish.

We’ve already paid for the roads we have. The government knows exactly how much it’s going to cost to maintain them, so they should have built that into their budget and not counted on gouging motorists to pay for their wasteful, incompetent ways.

In a a press release Tuesday, the office of Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said the fee hike is all about keeping us safe — and seemed to blame it on the auditor general.

“Updated fees help maintain the province’s transportation infrastructure and provide resources to help keep Ontario’s roads safe and are consistent with recommendations from the auditor general of Ontario to achieve full cost recovery for delivery of services,” the release said.

Oh, very clever spin. Blame it on the auditor.

What a series of auditors have said is that the government needs to spend money more wisely. Auditors consistently point out waste and mismanagement in the system and urge the government to do better.

If the government were more careful with our cash, they wouldn’t have to hike fees on stickers to pay for road maintenance.

This money won’t go into a dedicated road fund. It will go into general revenues — more cash for the Liberals to flush.

They don’t have an income problem. They have a spending habit they really should get counselling for.

Since 2003, the Liberals have brought in the two biggest tax hikes in the history of the province — the socalled health-care levy and the HST. They’ve dinged us with eco fees and all kinds of user fees. Now they’re bringing in cap and trade — another tax grab.

Then they poured the money down the toilet in scandals like the $1-billion eHealth mess and the Ornge air ambulance debacle — and the $70 million they spent on the now-defunct pension plan.

And they still can’t balance the books. Financial Accountability Officer Stephen LeClair warned recently that our debt is heading towards a massive and unsustainable $350 billion by 2020-21.

Look at the outrageous mess the Liberals have made of the electricity system since they’ve come to power. Bills are soaring. Now we’re hearing about seniors and others on a fixed income who dare not turn on their air conditioners in this sweatbox summer because they can’t afford the electricity.

And this is the same government that in 2013 promised to cut car insurance rates by 15%. What did we get? A “stretch” promise. Less coverage at arguably the same rate. And we now get to pay the HST on it.

Now they’re hiking plate stickers so driving will become a luxury as well as electricity.

Still, like sheep we’ll grumble — but we’ll all line up to fork out for our stickers.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The roads in this province are paved with gold-plated civil service pensions, billion-dollar boondoggles — and the blood, sweat and tears of the average working guy who just can’t catch a break.

•••

As of September 1, 2016:

•The Driver’s licence original and renewal fee, including the driver licensing fee as part of the enhanced driver licence, will change from $81.50 to $90.

•Vehicle licence validation in northern Ontario will change from $54 to $60.

•Vehicle licence validation in southern Ontario will change from $108 to $120.

New fee changes effective January 1, 2017:

•The Driver’s licence reinstatement fee after suspensions and administrative monetary penalty will change from $180 to $198.

•Driving instructors’ licence replacement will change from $28 to $31.

•Original and replacement plate/permit fee for manufacturer motor vehicle and motorcycle and dealer plate will change from $20 to $25.

•Original and replacement plate/permit fee for manufacturer motor vehicle and motorcycle and dealer permit will change from $10 to $32.