Shakira arrives for the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 2023. Photo: AFP
It seems like news about Shakira just doesn’t stop.
This time the Grammy-winning artiste is being charged by Spanish prosecutors for tax evasion.
Prosecutors claim she failed to pay US$7.1mil in taxes in 2018, according to the Associated Press. She is also being accused of using an offshore company to avoid paying taxes.
Shakira found out about the new charges while she was in Miami, where she lives with her two children. The singer has recently been under the media spotlight after breaking up with longtime boyfriend Gerard Pique.
This is not the first time Spanish officials have charged Shakira with tax evasion. In 2018, prosecutors in Barcelona brought charges against her for failing to pay more than US$14mil in taxes while residing in Spain.
According to prosecutors, the artiste was living in Spain between 2012 and 2014 but reported her official residence as being in the Bahamas, which has a lower tax rate than the European country.
Last year, a Spanish judge approved a trial against Shakira. In July 2022, prosecutors on one of the cases asked the judge to sentence the singer to eight years and two months behind bars if she is convicted. A trial date has not been set.
The Colombian native is also facing possible charges of tax fraud from 2018.
Shakira has made previous statements against Spanish tax authorities, calling the charges a “salacious press campaign.”
She has said that she has paid every amount they claimed she owed. Shakira also referenced her tax woes in Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, a dis track aimed at her ex that was released in January with Argentinian DJ and producer Bizzarap.
Spanish tax authorities have increased their investigations into other well-known celebrities like Cristiana Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for allegedly not paying the proper amount of taxes. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
