Shakira has landed in legal trouble over alleged tax evasion in Spain. According to a report by NBC News, Spanish authorities have charged the singer for tax evasion of $7.1 million, in Barcelona on Tuesday.
As per the report, Shakira allegedly failed to pay the said amount to the Spanish government in 2018. She allegedly used an offshore company in a tax haven to evade paying the tax amount. Barcelona prosecutors have notified Shakira of the charges in Miami, where she resides.
Notably, Shakira is set to face trial in Barcelona on November 20 in a separate legal case in which prosecutors allege her to have failed to pay $15.4 million in tax. In that case, prosecutors allege that she failed to pay tax for the 2012-14 period during which she spent more than half of the time in Spain.
Shakira used to spend time in Spain, with her former boyfriend and popular footballer Gerard Pique. The couple who have two children from their relationship, split up last year after 11 years of being together. Reportedly, the breakup took place due to infidelity by Pique who cheated on Shakira with a woman named Clara Chia Marti.
According to a report by usmagazine.com, in November 2022, Shakira refuted the claims by Spanish prosecutors and said that she was not a resident of the country between 2012 and 2014.
As per Spanish law, people are required to pay taxes only if they spend 183 days or more there in one year. Shakira denied spending that much time in Spain during the mentioned period. She asserted that she paid $10,141,075 in taxes to the U.S. government during 2012-14 period.
Recently, Shakira attended the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Source: Hindustan Times