Shakira is reportedly acquitted of tax fraud in Spain after a lengthy and arduous appeal process. Spain’s High Court announced this landmark ruling on Monday, May 18. With this, Spain’s national court has overturned the $64 million fine imposed by the Spanish tax agency in 2021. Spain’s High Court has also ordered the treasury to reimburse the Colombian pop star more than $70 million. This amount includes interest and legal fees.
Shakira wins in $64 million tax fraud trial
Shakira secures a major legal win in a $64 million tax fraud trial. The “Waka Waka” hitmaker shared a detailed statement with Entertainment Weekly. She noted in her statement that the win comes after “more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being.”
Shakira continued, “The National High Court has finally set the record straight. There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true. Yet, for nearly a decade, I was treated as guilty.”
“Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, using my name and public image to send a threatening message to the rest of the taxpayers. Today, that narrative crumbles, and it does so with the full force of a court ruling,” she added, vindicated in the tax fraud case.
The decade-old case is rooted in allegations that Shakira was a resident of Spain in 2011. Therefore, she is liable to pay taxes to the Spanish government that year. It was ruled that the fines imposed on the Colombian singer were unlawful. This was because they were “based on the assumption that the appellant’s tax residence was in Spain for the 2011 fiscal year, a fact which has not been proven.”
The judge ruled that authorities failed to prove that the singer spent more than 183 days in Spain. For those unversed, under Spanish law, one must spend more than 183 days in the country to be considered a tax resident.
