Shakira testifies in Spanish tax case

COLOMBIAN singer Shakira has appeared in court to testify in a tax avoidance case.

THE 42-year-old is alleged to have avoided paying €14.5 million in taxes by claiming she was a resident of the Bahamas when she in fact lived in Catalonia.

She used the Esplugues de Llobregat court’s car park to avoid waiting media when she arrived at 10am yesterday morning (June 6). She told the Barcelona judges that she is up-to-date with her taxes and had given her full cooperation to the investigation.

Shakira ‘officially’ became tax resident in Spain in 2015., moving her residency from the Bahamas. She lives in Barcelona with footballer Gerard Piqué and their two sons.

However, the Spanish taxman says she should have declared a change in residency sooner, saying that from 2012 to 2014 she was living in Catalonia and should have paid tax on her world-wide income in those years.

In February El Periodico newspaper reported the singer had paid €14.5 million to settle the debt.

Shakira’s PR company said she had appeared in court to “help clarify the facts over her tax situation in Spain.”

It added: “As soon as she learned how much she owed the Spanish tax authorities – and before a complaint was filed – Shakira paid the full amount, as well as providing the tax office with exhaustive information. For this reason, there is currently no debt whatsoever.”

 

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Dilip Kuner

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