Proposals to "hammer family finances" by raising taxes could see people and businesses opt to leave Scotland for other parts of the UK, Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has warned.
The Tory MSP criticised Liberal Democrat and Scottish Labour plans to put 1p on income tax as she delivered a speech to the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh.
She called for a "fair, transparent and competitive tax system" in Scotland, arguing that increasing tax would put the country at a disadvantage.
The Scottish Parliament will have limited control over income tax from April, which allow for each band to be increased or decreased by the same amount.
The Lib Dems last week announced they would increase income tax rates by 1p to fund investment in education, with Scottish Labour pledging the same increase on Tuesday, the day before Holyrood debates the Scottish Government's draft budget for 2016/17.
Ms Davidson said: "I find myself bemused by the approach of my principal opponents in this campaign - and by Labour in particular.
"Today we learn that Labour have decided to use the new tax powers in the Scottish Parliament to propose a hike in the income tax of every working person in Scotland. This is also the Lib Dem position.
"This will hurt every single taxpayer in the pocket. Both Labour and the Lib Dems are entering this election threatening to hammer family finances by raising the taxes of Scotland's workers.
"These policy proposals send a message. And if that message is that Scotland should be the highest-taxed part of the UK - then don't be surprised if businesses and people opt to find a different part of the UK in which to operate."
The Scottish Government has said it will not alter income tax rates until greater powers over both rates and bands are delivered to Holyrood through the new Scotland Bill.
Meanwhile, Ms Davidson has backed the central finding of the Independent Commission for Competitive and Fair Taxation in Scotland, which recommended the tax burden in Scotland should be no higher than in the rest of the UK and lower when affordable.
"We need a tax system which is competitive and business-friendly, but which is also seen as fair," she said as she went on to highlight the issue of tax avoidance.
"Right now, there is a growing debate about the taxes paid by multinational firms such as Google, Apple and Facebook.
"Firms which earn hundreds of millions of pounds from British taxpayers every year as we gobble up their ever-more enticing products, but which pay very small sums of tax in return."
She added: "It doesn't feel fair. And in our hearts I think we all know it isn't fair. The danger is that all this simply erodes trust in government.
"It further adds to the sense of simmering indignation that many people feel at a system that often seems rigged against them."
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