Shakira has been charged with tax fraud in Spain for allegedly not paying US $ 7.1 million (6.7 million euros) in taxes in 2018.
The Barcelona prosecutor’s office accused the pop star of using an offshore company in a tax haven to avoid paying the tax, according to the Associated Press .
In July, authorities near Barcelona announced that they were investigating the alleged tax fraud in 2018.
Shakira is already facing charges in a separate $13.9 million tax evasion case for allegedly not paying income tax from 2012 to 2014.
The charge of tax fraud is based on the claim that Shakira spent more than half of the year in Spain every year during this period, despite the fact that she indicated her residence as the Bahamas during her alleged stay in Spain. Spanish tax law provides that anyone who has lived in the country for more than six months is considered a resident and must pay taxes.
The singer faces up to eight years in prison if convicted in the first trial. Shakira had previously denied all the accusations, calling them “false accusations” in an interview with Elle in 2022 and affirming that she had not spent “183 days a year” in Spain during those years because she was “busy fulfilling my professional commitments all over the world”.” World.”
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“I paid everything that you claimed that I owed, even before you filed a lawsuit. As of today, I owe them zero, ” Shakira added. “It is known that the Spanish tax authorities often do this, not only with celebrities like me (or [Cristiano] Ronaldo, Neymar, [Xabi] Alonso and many more), but it also happens unfairly with the ordinary taxpayer. It’s just her style. But I am confident that I have enough evidence to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor.”