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A Tory election candidate is a shareholder in her husband's tax avoidance firm, the Mirror can reveal



Hannah David owns a 25% stake in HBFS Wealth Management, which specialises in helping wealthy people use tax laws to pay less inheritance tax using tax havens.

Her husband Freddy David owns the majority 75% of HBFS Financial Services Ltd and the company's website says he deals with "more complex and high value investment portfolios, with diverse and high profile clientele, especially offshore".



Mrs David is a director of the Conservative Policy Forum and the Tory candidate for Harrow West, the 19th seat on the Tory target list where Labour had a majority of just 2,208 or 5% in 2015.

The Tory manifesto says: "We will legislate for tougher regulation of tax advisory firms. We will take a more proactive approach to transparency and misuse of trusts."



Mrs David told the Mirror: "This is my husband's company - which is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority."



But tax campaigning chartered accountant Professor Richard Murphy, from the University of London, said: "An MP's job is to make sure the country is governed properly.



"Hannah David's family company reveals a deeply antagonistic attitude towards tax and goes out of its way to promote tax haven products.



"I can't see how this is compatible with being an MP in 2017."



HBFS specialises in helping wealthy people slash their inheritance tax bills, stating: "Don't let the taxman be your major beneficiary.



"If you’re careless about your financial arrangements, your Estate (and therefore your beneficiaries) could be hit by a major Inheritance Tax bill. Yet Inheritance Tax can be significantly reduced with the right long-term planning."





HBFS helps clients set up a so-called "Discounted Gift Trust", stating: "Pay attention. Or pay the taxman."



These trusts "work together with offshore wrappers" and "allows the gifting of a lump sum into a trust whilst retaining a life-long income from that money".



HBFS tells clients that they can use "offshore wrappers" to "put off the taxman (with the taxman’s blessing)" and states they are "excellent tax-planning vehicle for medium to long term investments".

Property lawyer Hannah David failed to win the Harrow West seat in 2015 but is trying again in June.



She has three children, is a former Tory councillor and says she has been a party activist for more than 20 years.