The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has said there would be limited scope to cut corporation tax in the country if powers were devolved from Westminster to Holyrood.
A report by the BBC said Scottish ministers were preparing to make their case for including the power to set corporation tax in the Scotland Bill, currently going through Westminster.
It stems from a plan by the UK treasury to devolve the power to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Across the border in the Republic of Ireland, corporation tax is set at 12.5 per cent, compared to the overall UK rate of 28 per cent.
As far as Scotland is concerned however, the ICAS said that if public services are to be maintained at a time when they are already feeling the strain, there would be limited scope for cuts in corporation tax in any case.
Elspeth Orcharton, assistant director of tax at the institute, said: "Of course, if you ask businesses if they'd like to pay less tax, they say 'yes'.
"However, a tax cut in itself can't deliver a complex public financial model for a small country in a global business world."
