Spanish Court Awards Singer $64 Million Refund

Shakira will receive a €60 million (about $64 million) refund after a Spanish court ruled in her favor in a long-running dispute over her taxes.

On Monday, May 18, Spain’s National High Court ruled that the Spanish Tax Agency failed to prove that Shakira spent 183 days in the country in 2011, the minimum required to pay personal income tax. The €60 million sum comprises a refund on taxes and fines, plus interest. 

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, the Colombian pop star celebrated the ruling: “After more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being, the National High Court has finally set the record straight. There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true.”

During the case, Spanish authorities tried to tie Shakira to Spain via her then-new relationship with soccer star Gerard Piqué (the couple began dating in 2010 and split in 2022), but the court ruled that their relationship was not the same as a marriage (per The Associated Press). The judge further stated that the tax authority failed to prove that Spain was “the main center or base” of Shakira’s business activities at the time.

Ultimately, the court stated that the agency could prove only that Shakira spent 163 days in Spain in 2011. To further bolster her case, Shakira pointed out that she spent much of that year on the road, playing 120 concerts across 2011. 

Shakira’s victory, however, won’t necessarily end the dispute. Spain’s tax authority indicated its intention to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, and stated that no payment would be made until there is a final ruling. 

Still, the musician was emphatic about what today’s decision meant and pushed back against the way she was treated during the lengthy legal proceedings. “Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, using my name and public image to send a threatening message to the rest of the taxpayers,” Shakira said. 

“Today, that narrative crumbles, and it does so with the full force of a court ruling. My greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Treasury and serves the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence at the cost of economic and emotional ruin. This victory is dedicated to them.”

Shakira has faced other tax cases in Spain over the years. In 2023, she settled a separate fraud case for a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of €7 million one day before the trial was set to begin. In that case, she was accused of failing to pay €14.5 million in income taxes between 2012 and 2014. Another investigation into allegations of tax fraud from 2018 was opened in July 2023, but in May 2024, investigators ruled there was not “sufficient evidence” to bring additional charges.