Michael Moore, the Liberal Democrat Scottish Secretary, last night intervened in the growing row over the SNP’s plans to hike business rates by demanding a detailed explanation of how they would affect Scottish firms.

Echoing concerns from business leaders, Moore warned the projected £850 million rise in rates by 2015, which was buried in the small print of last week’s Spending Review, could deter investment.

He said: "I am alarmed at the reaction that the Scottish Government’s Spending Review has provoked from the business community. In particular, I’m concerned at the fears expressed about the projected business rates and the significant risk that they could prove a major disincentive to new investment in Scotland.

"Scottish firms’ fears that they could be facing a damaging hike in business rates set by the Scottish Government must be addressed."

Finance Secretary John Swinney issued the SNP Government’s three-year spending review on Wednesday, alongside a draft budget for 2012-13.

It included a new "public health levy" on stores selling alcohol and tobacco, which will net £110m by 2015 through a supplement on premises with a rateable value of more than £300,000.

The new charge, dubbed the Tesco Tax, is a revised version of the levy the SNP tried to impose on all stores with a rateable value of £750,000 or more earlier this year.

That plan was killed off by opposition parties at Holyrood after an outcry from retailers. However, the SNP’s new majority, and the promise to use the £110m for health services, means there has been little resistance from MSPs this time.

The day after the Spending Review, the Centre for Public Policy for Regions (CPPR) at Glasgow University pointed out business rate increases were far larger than the £110m health levy.

The CPPR calculated that by 2015, the Government was projecting the total business rates raised by councils would increase by 22%, or £849m in cash terms, which was far above inflation.

The CPPR also said there was "scant" evidence the Government’s so-called Plan MacB for the Scottish economy -- spending more on construction projects to sustain jobs -- actually worked.

Swinney denounced the thinktank’s report as "misleading", and said the business rate rises were largely explained by inflation and projected growth in the economy.

But the CPPR analysis spooked business leaders. CBI Scotland said ministers were being very optimistic by relying on such a "hefty jump" to help maintain council spending.

The group’s assistant director, David Lonsdale, said: "The risk is that by taxing business too much they may deter investment and the creation of new jobs desperately needed to aid the recovery."

Moore said London and Edinburgh should work together on a Scottish Trade and Growth Board. "But right now we need to know the assessment the Scottish Government has made of the impact of their proposals, in particular with regard to business rates and the so-called Tesco Tax."

Jenny Stewart, head of public sector at KPMG Scotland, claimed that councils were in a far more "uncertain" position than other parts of the public sector, with a £1 billion real-terms cut by 2014-15 only partially offset by a "very significant rise" in business rates.

However, a spokesman for Swinney hit back: "It is for Michael Moore to explain why he supports Tory cuts to Scotland’s budget, giving the worst funding settlement since devolution.

"The reality is, despite mistaken and misleading claims, that the Spending Review confirms the Scottish Government’s policy on business rates."