Colombian singer Shakira, who complained in one of her big hits about having "the Tax Agency at the door," was acquitted on Monday of the alleged tax fraud committed in 2011 for which she was being tried. Specifically, the National Court has annulled the resolution of the Central Administrative Economic Court of July 22, 2021 against her, related to the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and Wealth Tax of that year.
In the ruling, reported by Europa Press, the high court has declared that the resolution, which was challenged by the Colombian artist, does not comply with the law, so it is annulled and orders the corresponding refund of amounts paid as a result of the charged facts, plus legal interests, with the imposition of costs on the Administration.
"After more than eight years enduring a brutal public stigmatization, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ended up affecting my health and the well-being of my family, the National Court has finally set things right. There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it was not true," the singer stated after the verdict.
Shakira regretted that, nevertheless, for almost a decade, she has been "treated as guilty." "Every step of the process has been leaked, distorted, and amplified, and my name and public figure have been used to send a threatening message to the rest of taxpayers," she denounced.
"Today that narrative falls, and it does so with the strength of a court ruling. My greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Tax Agency and serves the thousands of anonymous citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence from economic and emotional ruin. This victory is dedicated to them," she pointed out.
In 2011, Shakira was touring the world, with 120 concerts in 37 different countries. She did not have a house in Spain, nor children, nor did she have her business headquarters in this country, as explained by her legal team, yet the Tax Agency forced her to pay for all the earnings from that tour without considering her expenses, resulting in significant losses for her.
In its ruling, the court notes that the Administration itself has not been able to argue the singer's stay for 183 days in national territory, which is the legal time required to generate tax obligations. At most, they say, her stay reaches 163 days between certified and presumed days.
"It is also not proven that the singer's main core or base of economic activities or interests is located in Spain, directly or indirectly. On the contrary, the business structure attributed to the plaintiff is located outside the national territory, as well as the majority of her economic activity," the ruling states.
This has led to the Tax Agency wrongfully withholding 60 million euros corresponding to the working capital of that world tour and its expenses. An amount that the Administration must now refund to the singer, with the corresponding interests and the reimbursement of the costs incurred by the artist.
Additionally, the National Court has taken an exceptional measure: condemning the Tax Agency to pay costs, a penalty that is applied only when recklessness and absolute lack of foundation are observed on the part of the tax authority.
The artist and her legal team are "very satisfied" with the decision of the National Court. The administrative route has been the path through which Shakira has trusted to be able to prove her innocence. In early 2023, the singer moved to Miami with her children, where she has her tax residence.