LEADING business figures have called for Scotland to be given full control over taxing and spending in a bid to counteract a "financial scaremongering campaign" by Westminster parties in the run-up to the election.

More than 150 business owners and job creators have signed an open letter in a personal capacity, published today in the Sunday Herald, which calls for the transfer of meaningful economic powers to Scotland, followed by staged implementation of full fiscal responsibility.

The list of signatories represents a diverse range of industries, from finance, retail and media to tourism and fishing. It includes Tony Banks, chairman and founder of residential care home provider Balhousie Care Group and John Innes, who was named British Venture Capitalist of the Year in 2014.

The letter, which has been organised by pro-independence group Business for Scotland, states that fiscal transfers from Scotland to the rest of the UK have "slowed investment in economic growth in Scotland" for generations.

It adds: "As a result Scotland's economic productivity and participation are consistently low compared to equivalent small countries around the world.

"Full fiscal responsibility will free Scotland's economy from Westminster's centralised control, allowing the Scottish government to implement precisely tailored policies to help Scottish business compete in global markets, moving our economy closer to the higher levels of growth enjoyed by similar small to medium sized European nations."

The letter goes on to state the transfer of powers north of the border should also come with increased devolution for other nations and regions of the UK.

"In the interests of all UK citizens, the process of moving away from centralised London control should start on May 7th," it adds.

The issue of Scotland gaining full financial control has become a key election battleground. Last week opposition parties seized on an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which predicted it would lead to a financial black hole of £9.7 billion by the end of the decade - but the SNP said this assessment was based on inaccurate assumptions.

Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, founder and chief executive of Business for Scotland, said the group's membership had voted unanimously to support the moves towards devo-max offered by Westminster in the last few days of the referendum.

But he said the letter had been drawn up as a response to Westminster parties now restarting a "financial scaremongering campaign".

He said: "The goal of full fiscal responsibility is to find the right balance between economic growth, social protection and deficit reduction. With full fiscal responsibility we can grow our economy at unprecedented rates.

"In contrast, Westminster's ill-considered austerity consensus represents full financial irresponsibility."

Ian McDougall, a corporate financier and co-founder of The Glasgow Distillery Company, who signed the letter said: "Business competes on a world stage now, it is not just in the UK - but we are lagging behind many other countries in terms of research and development (R&D).

"We only invest about 1% of our GDP in R&D, where countries like Norway, Finland and Denmark invest about 3% - which means as a country we are less productive, our wage rates are lower and ultimately the economy is smaller.

"We could invest a higher level of our wealth through corporation tax reductions targeted at, for example, businesses who invest in R&D. But to do that you need your own fiscal powers - we can't do that at the moment as we don't have control over corporation tax."