Spanish prosecutors have accused Shakira of not paying €6.7 million (about £5.8 million) in taxes for her earnings in 2018. They say she used a company in a place where taxes are very low to avoid paying the taxes. They told her about the charges while she was in Miami, where she lives.
This is not the first time she’s in trouble with taxes in Spain. She’s already going to trial in Barcelona on November 20 for a different case. In that case, they say she didn’t pay €14.5 million in taxes. They believe she should have paid taxes in Spain because she spent a lot of time there between 2012 and 2014, even though her official home was in the Bahamas.
Spanish tax officials started investigating this new case in July, and now they’ve decided to charge her. There’s no trial date set yet. The company that used to manage Shakira’s business, Llorente y Cuenca, didn’t say anything right away. Last July, they said Shakira always followed the law and the advice of her financial advisors. Shakira has been connected to Spain since she started dating the retired soccer player Gerard Piqué. They lived together in Barcelona until last year when they ended their 11-year relationship.
Spain has been strict with famous people like footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, making sure they pay their taxes. Those players got in trouble for not paying enough taxes but didn’t go to jail because the law allows judges to skip prison sentences for first-time offenders if the sentence is less than two years.
Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/30/shakira-wild-boars-attacked-her-barcelona-park