A Spanish court has ordered authorities to refund more than €55 million to pop star Shakira after ruling that tax officials incorrectly designated her as a Spanish tax resident in 2011, overturning years of penalties and assessments against the singer.
Spain’s National Audience issued the ruling, which was seen by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency on Monday. The court found that authorities had failed to prove Shakira spent more than 183 days in Spain during 2011, the minimum required under Spanish law to qualify for personal income tax residency. Judges determined she spent just 163 days in the country that year and concluded that Spain was not demonstrably the centre of her economic interests at the time.
The ordered repayment covers roughly €24 million in income tax payments, nearly €25 million in fines originally issued for what authorities had labelled a very serious offence, and accumulated legal interest on both sums.
Reacting to the judgment, Shakira accused Spanish authorities of subjecting her to years of public exposure and coordinated attacks on her reputation.
“Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified,” she said in a statement sent to AFP.
The ruling does not resolve all of Shakira’s legal history in Spain. In 2023, the singer reached a separate settlement with prosecutors covering a different period, accepting charges related to income allegedly undeclared between 2012 and 2014 and paying a fine of nearly €7.8 million to avoid trial.
During the earlier investigation, Spain’s tax agency reportedly examined her social media activity and interviewed witnesses including neighbours and her hairdresser in an attempt to establish residency through the 183-day threshold.
Shakira, born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll and now 49, previously lived in Barcelona with former partner Gerard Piqué for over a decade before the couple separated in 2022. She subsequently relocated to Miami with their two sons. The singer is currently preparing to close her Women Don’t Cry Anymore world tour with a residency in Madrid beginning in September.
Spain has pursued a number of celebrity tax cases in recent years. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both convicted of tax evasion in separate cases and received suspended sentences as first-time offenders.
