MONDAY marked 100 campaigning days until May’s Holyrood elections; 100 days before a new Scottish Government comes to office.

And after this election, it won’t just be services like health, education and transport that will be decided by Holyrood – but it will also have huge powers over tax; including how much income tax you pay.

These financial powers promise to transform Holyrood from a spending theatre to a Chamber where we will see a real debate about economic priorities.

And not before time.

The debate in Scotland needs to move on from what powers the Parliament should have, to how these tax powers will be used.

So as we approach these elections, the challenge for each of the political parties is to set out how they intend to use the new powers to boost economic growth.

For the Scottish Conservatives, Monday marked an important staging post in that journey with the publication of the final report of the Independent Commission for Competitive and Fair Taxation in Scotland.

Now I know those words don’t automatically set the pulse racing – documents about taxation rarely do – but the Commission’s recommendations are big, bold and have the potential to invigorate the Scottish economy.

Headed up by Sir Iain McMillan, formerly in charge of the CBI, the expert panel acted independently of my party with the aim of examining how Holyrood can harness new and existing powers to boost growth.

Their final report (which can be accessed here: www.comtax.org) is an important contribution to what is a vital public debate.

I’ll be studying the entire report carefully over the coming weeks.

But my first reaction is this: that the Commission’s central recommendation - that the tax burden should be no higher in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, and lower when affordable – is one I fully agree with.

As far as the Scottish Conservatives are concerned, the priority must be to grow our tax base, expand our economy, and create more high value jobs.

None of that will happen if we throw up a warning sign over Scotland saying "higher taxes here."

We need to show that Scotland is open for business.

That’s why I will do everything that I can to ensure that the SNP does not use the new tax powers to take more money from the pay packets of hardworking Scots.

The next few years will be crucial for our economy.

I want to see a Scotland that flourishes; that hones its competitiveness, improves its skills base and creates the right environment for success.

Very soon, the Scottish Parliament will have more scope to affect this than ever before.

I’m determined that we use these financial powers wisely and create the ambitious, aspirational Scotland that we should all want to see.