A new tax should be slapped on every bottle of Scotch whisky in a bid to give Scotland a larger slice of the tipple's growing global success, economic experts have said.

Professor John Kay, who served on the Scottish government's Council of Economic Advisers, believes a tax of £1 on the production of each bottle could swell Holyrood coffers by at least £1bn.

But the Scotch Whisky Association believes such a move would simply damage demand, investment and Scottish jobs.

In a BBC Scotland TV investigation, Kay said the recent exporting success of Scotch had brought 'disappointing' benefits to Scotland.

Currently the Scottish government cannot tax the alcohol, a power held by Westminster. But Holyrood could put a levy on the water used in the distilling process.

Scotch is hugely popular in the US and much of Europe with growth potential in emerging economies across Asia, Africa and South America.

Kay slammed the industry for its high concentration of ownership by major corporations based outside Scotland, which meant most of the profits poured out of the country.

Diageo, headquartered in London and listed on the NYSE, wants to increase its marketshare of the global whisky market to 40%. Last year the company made £3bn in profits with some £1bn generated by whisky sales.

Kay told the BBC: 'The largest producers are not based in Scotland. Their profits go mostly to people who are not resident in Scotland. They don't pay much tax in Scotland, and we don't think they pay much tax in the UK.'

But Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, told the programme: 'I cannot see why any government would apply a production tax which would make Scotch whisky less competitive overseas against other drinks which are cheaper to produce and cheaper to sell.'

The Scotched Earth programme will be broadcast on BBC Scotland at 10.35pm tonight.