A Spanish court has ordered the country’s tax authority to refund Colombian pop star Shakira more than €55 million ($64 million) collected in connection with a dispute over her 2011 taxes.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to a ruling by Spain’s National Audience court seen by AFP on Monday, tax authorities failed to prove that the singer spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011 — the legal threshold required for an individual to qualify as a tax resident.
The court held that “Shakira spent 163 days in Spain” and that authorities were unable to establish that the singer had “the centre of her economic interests in Spain”.
The ruling, issued last month, directs Spain’s tax agency to refund all payments made by the singer, including legal interest. The decision effectively overturns multimillion-euro tax penalties and adjustments previously imposed on the award-winning artiste.
Reacting to the judgment, Shakira said the court had “finally set the record straight” after years of what she described as “brutal public exposure, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately affected my health and my family’s wellbeing”.
“Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, using my name and public image to send a threatening message to other taxpayers. Today, that narrative falls apart,” she added in a statement sent to AFP.
The total repayment reportedly includes about €24 million in income tax, nearly €25 million in penalties linked to what authorities had described as a “very serious” infringement, as well as accrued interest.
The ruling comes as the 49-year-old singer prepares to conclude her record-breaking “Women Don’t Cry Anymore” world tour with a concert residency in Madrid beginning in September.
Shakira lived in Barcelona with former Gerard Piqué for more than a decade before the pair separated in 2022. She later relocated to Miami with their two sons.
The singer has consistently maintained that she only established permanent residence in Barcelona at the end of 2014 and officially transferred her tax residency from the Bahamas to Spain in 2015.
The case is one of several disputes between the singer and Spain’s tax authorities. In a separate case involving allegations that she failed to pay taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014, prosecutors accused her of defrauding the state of €14.5 million.
In 2023, Shakira reached a settlement with prosecutors, agreeing to pay a fine of nearly €7.8 million to avoid trial.
Spanish tax investigators reportedly examined her social media activity and interviewed dozens of witnesses, including neighbours and her hairdresser, in an effort to prove she spent more than 183 days annually in Spain during the years under investigation.
In a 2024 letter published in Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the singer likened the investigation to an “Inquisition trial”, accusing authorities of being more interested in “burning her in public” than listening to her defence.
Spain has intensified efforts in recent years to pursue high-profile tax evasion cases involving celebrities and football stars, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both players were convicted of tax offences but avoided jail time as first-time offenders.
