According to the Associated Press, Shakira has been charged with tax fraud in Spain, after failing to pay 6.7 million euros ($7.1 million) on her 2018 taxes. According to the prosecutors in Barcelona, they claim that the singer used an offshore account “based in a tax haven” to attempt to avoid paying. She has since been alerted of the charges, as she is in Miami, according to the publication.
However, this isn’t Shakira’s first run. She is set to be tried in Barcelona on November 20 for a separate case, where she allegedly failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($13.9 million) in taxes between her 2012-2014 earnings.
Back in July, a Spanish judge had granted prosecutors to “probe two possible cases of tax fraud” from 2018. At the time, her PR firm responded that she had “always acted in concordance with the law and on the advice of her financial advisers.”
“(Shakira) is now focused on her artistic career in Miami and is calm and confident that she will receive a favorable resolution of her fiscal issues,” they added, according to another article from AP.
Recently, Spain has also started to be more strict about celebrities not paying taxes. Other stars, including soccer player Lionel Messi, were found guilty of evasion. However, because Messi was also on a first-time offense, the judge allowed him to avoid prison time.
