Madrid (AFP) – A Spanish court has ordered the tax authority to refund Colombian pop star Shakira more than 55 million euros ($64 million) improperly collected in a dispute over her 2011 taxes, according to a ruling seen Monday. The National Audience said tax authorities had failed to prove that the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011, the legal threshold requiring residents to pay personal income tax in the country.
“On the contrary, the court found that Shakira spent 163 days in Spain and that the tax authorities had therefore failed to prove that the singer had the center of her economic interests in Spain,” according to the ruling issued last month, which was seen by AFP on Monday. The court ruled that Spain’s tax agency must return all amounts paid, plus legal interest, effectively cancelling multimillion-euro penalties and tax adjustments that had classified Shakira as a Spanish tax resident for that year.
Shakira welcomed the ruling, saying the court had “finally set the record straight” after years of “brutal public exposure, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately affected my health and my family’s wellbeing.” “Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, using my name and public image to send a threatening message to other taxpayers. Today, that narrative falls apart,” she added in a statement sent to AFP.
The total repayment exceeds 55 million euros and includes about 24 million euros in income tax, nearly 25 million euros in fines for what authorities had described as a “very serious” infringement, plus interest.
The ruling comes as Shakira, 49, is set to wrap up her record-breaking “Women Don’t Cry Anymore” world tour with a concert residency in Madrid starting in September. Shakira lived with former FC Barcelona and Spain footballer Gerard Pique for more than a decade before the couple separated in 2022. The singer, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, moved to Miami with their two sons after the split. Shakira reportedly met Pique while filming the music video for “Waka Waka,” the official song of the 2010 World Cup, which featured several footballers.
She has maintained that she established her permanent residence in Barcelona at the end of 2014 and later transferred her tax residency from the Bahamas to Spain in 2015. The dispute is one of several involving the artist and Spain’s tax agency, including a separate settlement in 2018 related to alleged irregularities in her filings.
Spanish authorities also argued she lived in Spain more than 183 days per year between 2012 and 2014, accusing her of defrauding the tax office of 14.5 million euros earned during that period. In 2023, Shakira reached a separate settlement with prosecutors to settle the case and avoid trial. As part of the deal, she accepted the charges in exchange for paying a fine of nearly 7.8 million euros.
Spain’s tax office went through her social media posts to gather evidence that she had been in Spain for over 183 days per year. Its lawyers summoned dozens of witnesses, including her hairdresser and neighbors, to back their case. Shakira compared the tax office investigation into her affairs to an “Inquisition trial,” saying in a 2024 letter published in Spanish daily El Mundo that authorities were more focused on “burning her in public” than listening to her arguments.
Spain has in recent years cracked down on celebrities such as Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo for unpaid taxes. Both players were convicted of evasion and received prison sentences that were waived for first-time offenders.
© 2024 AFP
