Shakira Says She “Owes Zero” to The Spanish Government Amid Tax Fraud Allegations
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With the tax controversy threatening Shakira’s reputation, the international pop icon continues to fight for her innocence. She claims that the Spanish government attempted to coerce a court settlement out of her amid preparation for tax dispute.
For those who may have missed it, it was announced in late July that Shakira may face prison time due to alleged tax evasion. At the time, prosecutors were accusing Shakira of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014. Their accusation comes from their belief that she spent more than half of each year in Spain and didn’t properly file taxes.
Shakira Rejects Court Settlement in Tax Case
The Queen of Latin Music has finally spoken out about her ongoing tax fraud case with the Spanish government. The singer has confirmed that she denied the court settlement, which will send her issue to trial.
Within a recent interview, Shakira revealed that Spanish authorities are use to employing unethical tactics to pressure celebrities like her.
“Even without evidence to support these fictional claims, as they usually do, they’ve resorted to a salacious press campaign to try to sway people and apply pressure in the media along with the threat of reputational damage in order to coerce settlement agreements,” she said.
Essentially, this legal dispute started when the Spanish Tax Office investigated her residency in Barcelona, Spain from 2012 to 2014. In present day, the Spanish government threatens her with up to eight years in prison. The same filing also binds her to pay a multi-million-dollar fine if she loses the case.
She Claims Zero Liability to the Spanish Government
Throughout the situation, Shakira has stood her ground, fighting for what she believes is right. The singer confirmed that these are “false accusations.”
“First of all, I didn’t spend 183 days per year at that time at all. I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world,” she said. “Second, I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them.”
The pop icon also stated that she was advised by one of the biggest tax specialist firms in the globe, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Hence, Shakira knows that she’s been doing it “correctly and transparently.”
The pop icon explained that she does not qualify as a resident. She insists that the Spanish government merely “salivated” by the fact that she dated a Spanish citizen. Meanwhile, details about the plea deal were not disclosed, and no trial date has been announced yet.
For Shakira, proceeding to court is “a matter of principle.” The pop icon thinks that coercing settlement agreements is just the style of Spanish authorities. Despite bumps ahead, she is confident that she has sufficient proof to win the case.
