Shakira’s Tax: Shakira, a singer from Colombia, settled her tax evasion case with Spanish authorities in a surprising way. The Grammy-winning singer somehow avoided a trial that was supposed to start on Monday. Her hips don’t lie, but her financial records do.
Shakira’s Tax Triumph: Resolving the Case with No Courtroom Drama
The Barcelona prosecutor’s office confirmed the settlement, which showed that Shakira not only admitted to the charges against her but also agreed to pay a large amount of money. She lost a total of €17.5 million, which is about $19 million. This amount paid for the taxes she owed plus interest. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they were also fined €7.3 million, which is about $8 million.
Instead of facing the possibility of eight years in prison, Shakira chose to pay fines and agreed to pay about $437 a day for a made-up three-year sentence. After adding it all up, that comes to just over $470,000, which is a big amount to pay for a mistake in the music.
The judge dropped the bombshell of a last-minute agreement during a quick 10-minute session. There was little drama in the courtroom. What a deal! When asked about it, Shakira gave a loud “yes,” ending this tax case for good.
The singer’s public relations team said in a statement that the settlement ended a tax dispute that went back to 2012 and 2014. In her own words, Shakira said that she was ready to go to court and defend her innocence. But a sad realization made them change their minds.
She said, “I had two choices: keep fighting until the end, which would cost my peace of mind and the peace of mind of my children; or agree, close this chapter of my life, and look forward to the future after making songs, albums, and tours.”
Spanish prosecutors said that Shakira had not paid her personal income and wealth tax for the three years in question, and the amount she owed was about $15.6 million. According to Spain’s tax code, she had to pay taxes because she spent more than 200 days a year there. This was decided in 2021.
However, in an interview with Elle magazine in 2022, Shakira strongly denied these claims, calling them “false.” She said, “First of all, I didn’t spend 183 days a year there at all.” I was busy taking care of business obligations all over the world. As for the second point, I already paid everything they said I owed before they sued. I no longer owe them anything as of today.
The singer seems to have made it through the legal maze, but she has a lot of money to make up for what she did and a big hole in her bank account. The Shakira tax fraud case is coming to an end, and it makes me wonder what kind of toll it takes on the lives of our favorite celebrities when they are in court. It serves as a reminder that even the most beautiful melodies can have a twist that you didn’t see coming.
