Higher taxes could drive Scotland's best and brightest out of the country, the Tories have warned.

Ruth Davidson welcomed an intervention by the Scottish Chambers of Congress (SCC) that raising income tax could "drive away valuable talent".

The SCC's chief executive Liz Cameron said income tax should be "at least as competitive in Scotland as in any other part of the UK", adding: "If it isn't, it could drive valuable talent away from Scotland and act as a barrier to attracting new investment in our economy."

Ms Cameron also said new powers coming to Holyrood over taxation would "require a different mind-set from our politicians - one which understands the need to balance what is desirable with what is achievable".

Conservative leader Ruth Davidson called Ms Cameron's comments "hugely important" and a "wake-up call".

Davidson said: "Liz Cameron could not be clearer: higher taxes will drive out talent from Scotland and deter investment and jobs from coming here.

"Her comments are a wake up call to Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems.

"They have used this campaign to wage an irresponsible and cynical bidding war over who can increase tax the most - with no regard whatsoever for the destructive impact this will have on jobs and the economy.

"Their proposals to make Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK are irresponsible and completely wrong-headed. We need a plan for jobs, not a plan for ever higher taxes.

She added: "I can assure people that the Scottish Conservatives will campaign hard in the next Scottish Parliament to make the case for fair and competitive taxes not just because taxpayers deserve a break, but because - as Liz Cameron says - it is the best way to keep our economic recovery on track."​

SNP tax plans are "fair and responsible", the party said.

An SNP spokesperson said: "Our income and local tax plans are fair and responsible, we will continue our Small Business Bonus which has already saved firms around £1 billion - and we have already shown we can stand up to the Treasury, saving Scotland £7 billion in the process.

"As well as lifting 100,000 businesses out of business rates altogether, we will review the wider business rates system to make sure that it supports economic growth and job creation with an emphasis on ensuring that Scotland remains the most competitive place in the UK to do business.

"With new powers over tax we will freeze the basic rate of income tax to help low and middle income earners.

"We will not however implement the tax cut for higher rate earners proposed by the Tories - instead we will freeze the higher rate threshold in 2017/18 and ensure that it will rise by a maximum of inflation until 2021/22.

"These measures will generate at least £1.2 billion in additional revenue over the next parliament while retaining a competitive tax rate overall."

The Greens, who support a 60p income tax rate on top earners, called Davidson's comments "a counsel of despair".

The party's co-convener Patrick Harvie said: "To demand that Scotland simply falls in line with the 'race to the bottom' of tax competition in which all countries offer low tax environments to the super-rich is to surrender the idea of a fairer and more equal society.

"No wonder the Tories agree."

Harvie said he simply didn't buy the underlying assumption that talent was the same thing as wealth, or that "talented people care only about their own incomes instead of wanting to live in a decent society".

He said: "If a tiny number of people really are motivated solely by greed, I think Scotland can manage without them just fine."

Harvie also added: "The Scottish Greens are confident that people in Scotland value living in a safe, caring society with good public services, and are willing to pay for them."

Labour said the best way to bolster the economy was through education.

A spokesperson said: "The single most important economic investment we can make is in education and skills, which independent experts believe could generate billions more for our economy.

"But education faces hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts in the next five years. That's why, faced with the choice between using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest in education and our economy or carrying on the cuts, Labour would use the powers to stop the cuts."

The Lib Dems also called for a "transformational investment" in education.

Party leader Willie Rennie said: "The idea that having a slightly higher tax level in Scotland to the rest of the UK will lead to people packing up and moving to England is utter nonsense.

"We need to ensure that our tax regime is fair but our economy will suffer in the long term if we don't make a transformational investment in education.

"Our penny for education policy will ensure that children get the best start in life and businesses can hire the skilled staff they need. That is the right thing for young people and a good thing for our economy.

Rennie added: "What is cynical and irresponsible are Tory plans to cut tax for the rich while clobbering the rest of Scotland with stealth taxes and brutal cuts to services."