Shakira has won her latest battle against the Tax Agency after eight years of litigation. The National Court has ruled in her favor in the case regarding the 2011 fiscal year and orders the Tax Agency to return 60 million euros to her. The Tax Agency considered that the Colombian artist had spent the legally required time in Spain —183 days— which obligated her to pay taxes on her earnings in the country.
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However, her legal team argued that “it was materially impossible for the singer to spend the legally required time in Spain.” In a statement released this Monday, they recall that “in 2011, Shakira was on tour around the world, giving up to 120 concerts in 37 different countries. She had no home or children in Spain, nor did she ever have her business center in this country; yet, the Tax Agency pursued her and forced her to pay taxes on all the earnings from that tour without considering her expenses.” Furthermore, they criticize that this situation caused her “great losses and an unjust and unfounded persecution with terrible consequences for her.” This was the last case open against the Colombian singer by the Spanish tax authorities. In 2023, after divorcing Gerard Piqué, she packed her bags and moved to Miami with her two children.
“In 2011, Shakira had no home or children in Spain, but the Tax Agency pursued her and forced her to pay taxes on all the earnings from that tour,” her legal team reproaches
The ruling emphasizes that “that stay, as determined by the Administration itself, does not reach 183 days” and therefore, “it is obvious that the resulting sanctions are unlawful.” In the statement, Shakira’s legal team stresses that the Tax Agency must return the 60 million euros that the artist has had withheld to date.
“Under the guise of tax obligations that Justice has shown never existed, the Tax Agency has improperly withheld 60 million euros for years, corresponding precisely to the working capital of that world tour and its expenses. An amount that, of course, through this ruling, the Administration is ordered to return to the singer, with the corresponding interest and the due reimbursement of the very high costs incurred by the artist,” her legal team reproaches in a statement.
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Shakira’s lawyer, José Luis Prada, after learning of the ruling, stated that “this resolution comes after an ordeal of eight years that has meant an unacceptable wear, reflecting a lax administrative practice. Shakira had the strength and resources to see it through to the end, but this modus operandi suffocates many anonymous taxpayers who do not have the resources to defend themselves.” Therefore, “it is a huge relief and a deep pride to see the rigor and independence of our courts and it comforts us to confirm that, against unacceptable administrative positions, we can trust in a Justice that truly works and ensures the supremacy of the law.”
Sources from the Tax Agency have announced that they will urge the State Attorney’s Office to appeal the ruling in cassation before the Supreme Court. They recall that the Colombian artist accepted the convictions for crimes against the public treasury for the years 2012-2014 and that in this case, the National Court “was resolving the year 2011 in administrative proceedings.”
Shakira was convicted of tax fraud for the fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014. She reached an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office and accepted a three-year prison sentence that was replaced by the payment of 7.3 million euros. The Colombian singer avoided the trial and stated that she had signed the agreement “for her children.”
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