The Spanish government alleges that Shakira failed to pay 6.7 million euros in taxes for the year 2018. They claim she employed a company based in a tax haven to evade these taxes and have informed her of these charges while she resides in Miami.
Furthermore, Shakira is already slated to stand trial in Barcelona on November 20 for not paying 14.5 million euros in taxes spanning from 2012 to 2014. The government asserts that, even though her official residence was in the Bahamas, she should have paid taxes in Spain as she resided there for more than half of that time.
Last July, Spanish tax authorities initiated a new case against the Colombian singer, and after evaluating the evidence over the past two months, they have chosen to press charges. A specific court date has yet to be determined.
Shakira has had ties to Spain since her relationship with retired soccer player Gerard Piqué began. They share two children and lived together in Barcelona until their separation last year after 11 years together.
Notably, Spanish tax authorities have been rigorously pursuing soccer stars, such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for their failure to fully pay taxes over the past decade. While these players were found guilty of tax evasion, they did not serve prison sentences due to a rule that permits judges to waive sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders.
