A Spanish court has acquitted Shakira in a tax evasion case and ordered the government to refund her over 55 million euros ($88 million) in wrongly imposed fines, according to a judicial document reviewed by the Associated Press on Monday.
This decision comes after years of tax troubles in Spain for the Colombian star.
The ruling is based on a dispute regarding the 2011 tax year, during which Spanish authorities failed to prove that the singer was a resident in Spain, said the Madrid court in its decision.
To be considered a tax resident in Spain, a person must spend more than 183 days in the country.
Spanish authorities could only prove that Shakira stayed in Spain for a total of 163 days that year, the court stated, ordering the Treasury to reimburse the singer for the taxes paid, plus interest.
The Spanish tax administration argued that at the time, Shakira was linked to Spain through her relationship with retired soccer player Gerard Piqué, and that her main economic activities were carried out in the country.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that this relationship could not be legally equated to a marriage, and it was not proven that the “main center or base” of Shakira’s economic activities or interests in Spain in 2011 was directly or indirectly located in Spain.
“There was never any fraud, and the tax administration was never able to prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true,” stated Shakira in a statement released by her lawyers.
The Spanish Treasury must reimburse the singer 60 million euros (over 96 million), including interest, as mentioned by Shakira’s lawyer.
“This decision comes after eight years of evidence that had unacceptable consequences, reflecting a lack of rigor in administrative practices,” emphasized her lawyer, José Luis Prada, in a statement.
In 2023, in another tax fraud case, Shakira reached an agreement with the Spanish prosecutor to avoid a trial concerning allegations that she did not pay 14.5 million euros (then 23.2 million) in income tax in Spain between 2012 and 2014.
The singer admitted the facts and was compelled to pay 7.3 million euros (then 11.6 million) in addition to the unpaid taxes and interest.
The singer of “Hips Don’t Lie” was mentioned in the 2017 “Paradise Papers” leaks, detailing the offshore tax arrangements of many high-profile personalities, including pop icons Madonna and Bono of U2.
Over the past decade, Spanish tax authorities have cracked down on soccer stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for not fully paying their taxes.
These players have been found guilty of tax evasion but have avoided prison thanks to a provision allowing a judge not to impose a prison sentence of less than two years for first-time offenders.
