The Spanish taxman has been ordered to return €55 million to Shakira after she was cleared in a years-long tax fraud case on Monday.
The Colombian pop star confessed to six tax fraud crimes in November 2023 at a court in Barcelona and accepted a suspended three-year prison sentence and a €7.3 million fine.
She admitted to wrongdoing for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 on the first day of a scheduled trial as part of a plea bargain deal despite accusing the Spanish Treasury of ‘publicly burning her at the stake’ like a witch during the Inquisition in a subsequent no-holds-barred attack from her new home in Miami.
But on Monday the Hips Don’t Lie singer, due to perform this summer’s official World Cup song called Dai Dai, was celebrating victory in her last battle against Madrid tax chiefs over her 2011 tax return.
It was the only year of the four at the centre of the dispute between Shakira and Spanish authorities which was outside the prosecution time limit and could only be settled via administrative proceedings.
In 2018 she was reported to have paid millions to the Spanish taxman so she could subsequently launch the appeal which ended in this week’s victory.
The Audiencia Nacional Court in Madrid confirmed it had sided with the singer as it said authorities had been unable to prove she had spent the minimum 183 days in Spain in 2011 that would have made her liable to pay tax there for that year.
The Spanish taxman has been ordered to return €55 million to Shakira after she was cleared in a years-long tax fraud case on Monday
The Colombian pop star confessed to six tax fraud crimes in November 2023 at a court in Barcelona and accepted a suspended three-year prison sentence and a €7.3 million fine
The Audiencia Nacional said in a statement: ‘The administration has not proven the singer stayed in Spain for more than 183 days in 2011.
‘On the contrary, the ruling judges understand that Shakira’s stay in Spain amounted to 163 days and that the administration therefore failed to prove that the singer had her centre of economic interests in Spain or family ties with residents in the country.’
The sentence said it was ‘irrelevant’ that the Bahamas, where the singer was officially a tax resident in 2011, was a tax haven at the time.
It said: ‘The essential point the administration had to prove was whether the appellant was a tax resident in Spain.’
The artist, who moved to Miami in 2023 with her two children following her split from former Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, said on Monday: ‘After more than eight years enduring brutal public accusations, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and entire sleepless nights that ended up affecting my health and my family’s well-being, the Audiencia Nacional court has finally set the record straight.’
‘There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself was never able to prove otherwise, simply because it was not true.
‘Even so, for almost a decade, I was treated as guilty, every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, and my name and public profile were used to send a threatening message to other taxpayers.
Her lawyer Jose Luis Prada added: ‘This ruling comes after an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable emotional toll on my client and reflects a lax administrative practice.
‘Shakira has had the strength and resources to see this through to the end, but this modus operandi suffocates many anonymous taxpayers who do not have the resources to defend themselves.
‘For that reason, it is an immense relief and a profound source of pride to witness the rigor and independence of our courts, and it comforts us to see that, in the face of unacceptable administrative positions, we can trust in a justice system that truly works and ensures the rule of law prevails.’
Shakira was on a world tour in 2011 and according to her representatives performed at 120 concerts in 37 different countries.
They said in a statement today: ‘She didn’t have a house in Spain, or children, nor did she ever have her business centre in that country.
‘Even so the Tax Agency pursued her and forced her to pay tax for her total earnings from that tour without taking into account her expenditure, leading to huge losses and an unfair and unfounded persecution which had terrible consequences for her.’
The artist moved to Miami in 2023 with her two children following her split from former Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué (seen in 2019)
Shakira’s former lawyer famously claimed after she agreed to defrauding tax for the years 2012 to 2014 that she would have saved herself millions if he had fallen in love with former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos instead of Gerard Pique.
Pau Molins said the quirks of the Spanish tax system meant her 11-year romance with the retired Barcelona footballer led to her facing six tax fraud charges instead of three.
He defended his arguments, made on a radio station, by pointing out that residents in Madrid do not pay wealth tax unlike those living in Catalonia.
Three of the crimes Shakira confessed to in court as part of her plea bargain deal related to evasion of wealth tax, a tax on residents’ worldwide net assets, for the years 2012 and 2014. The other three related to income tax evasion.
Making his comments about the Colombian artist’s choice of partner on a Catalan radio station, Mr Molins said: ‘Shakira’s infatuation has cost her €120 million.
‘If she had fallen in love with Sergio Ramos instead of Gerard Pique it would have cost her a lot less.
‘They go on about the equality of all Spaniards, but it turns out that if you’re resident in Catalonia you can go to jail for a crime they couldn’t imprison you for in Madrid, even if you’re doing the same thing, because there is no wealth tax.’
Mr Molins also insisted he had wanted to go to trial, saying: ‘I thought we could have won,’ but said Shakira had decided to make a deal and his obligation had been to respect her wishes.
He went on to defend his client, claiming: ‘With international artists it’s very difficult.
‘Where do they live if they spend all their lives travelling? In 2011 Shakira did a world tour and visited 74 countries. It’s very complicated to determine where they should pay their taxes.’
Unlike the UK, the Spanish tax year covers the January to December calendar year.
Official residents in Spain pay Spanish taxes on their worldwide income.
People who spent more than 183 days in a given calendar year in Spain are considered Spanish residents for tax purposes.
Shakira, full name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, separated from former Argentinian president’s son Antonio de la Rua in August 2010 before starting a relationship with Gerard in 2011.
