Spain's High Court has acquitted Shakira of tax fraud, ordering the government to reimburse her for a wrongly imposed 2021 fine equalling over $64 million. The ruling is in regards to a case alleging that Shakira had spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011 — the minimum number of days required to be considered a tax resident of the country — without paying taxes.
The tax agency argued that Shakira was linked to Spain through her then-partner, former FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, but the court ruled that the case was "based on the assumption that the appellant's tax residence was in Spain for the 2011 fiscal year, a fact which has not been proven." The tax agency said it plans to withhold their reimbursement until it appeals with the Supreme Court.
This ruling is separate from Shakira's more recent tax fraud charges: In 2022, she was charged with defrauding the Spanish government of 14.5 million euros ($15 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014, with the government arguing that Shakira spent more than half of those years in Spain despite maintaining her official residence in the Bahamas. After publicly denying any tax evasion, she was hit with another round of charges in 2023.
Shortly thereafter, Shakira reached an agreement with the Spanish government. The singer accepted a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of 7.3 million euros (about $8 million) — along with another 432,000 euro fine for having her sentence waived. Her legal record now shows that she has been found guilty of tax fraud, which could theoretically affect future cases, just not the one she was acquitted in today.
Shakira is set to perform at the World Cup Halftime Show this July.
