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The courts force the Tax Agency to return more than €60 million to Shakira
The legal battle between Shakira and the Tax Agency has taken a new turn that once again puts Barcelona at the centre of media attention. The National Court has concluded that the Colombian artist was not a tax resident in Spain during 2011, a decision that requires the Tax Agency to return more than €60 million to her in penalties, interest and sums claimed during the proceedings.
The ruling is a significant setback for the Tax Agency in one of the most closely followed tax cases of recent years. The court considers that it was not proven that Shakira stayed long enough in Spanish territory to be considered a tax resident that year. The key to the case was precisely determining where she actually carried out her usual and professional life during that period.
That said, the decision does not change the singer's situation with regard to the tax years 2012, 2013 and 2014. For those years, Shakira's conviction remains in place after she reached an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office over tax fraud. The artist thus avoided going to prison in exchange for admitting the offences and accepting the payment of multimillion-euro fines.
The case has revived the debate over how the tax residence of wealthy individuals and international figures who divide their time between different countries is interpreted. Lawyers and tax experts point out that proving where a person with global activity actually lives can become a complex process full of nuances, especially when personal and economic ties exist in several places at the same time.
In Barcelona, where Shakira lived for more than a decade, the news once again sparks interest in a story that mixed private life, international fame and tax pressure. For years, the singer was one of the city's most visible figures, both because of her relationship with Gerard Piqué and because of her constant presence in exclusive neighbourhoods and highly recognisable places in the Catalan capital.
The case has also brought to the fore growing tax scrutiny of athletes, artists and international businesspeople with partial residence in Spain. In recent years, the Tax Agency has tightened its monitoring of high-net-worth taxpayers, especially in cities with strong international appeal and a large presence of profiles linked to sport, music or entertainment.
Shakira, one of the world's most influential Latin artists, maintained a close relationship with Barcelona for years, a city where she lived with Gerard Piqué and where she developed much of her family life. Her link to the Catalan capital turned every judicial and media development into a matter of enormous public impact. The tax case has been followed both inside and outside Spain and has become one of the best-known examples of the clash between international celebrities and the Spanish Tax Agency.