Spanish Court Orders Tax Agency to Repay Shakira $64 Million Over Wrongful Tax Fine

A Spanish court has ordered the country’s tax agency to repay Shakira more than $64 million after ruling that it wrongly fined her over her 2011 tax status.

The court in Madrid said tax authorities failed to prove that the Colombian singer spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011, the minimum required to make her a tax resident. Judges found she had stayed in Spain for 163 days that year and said there was no proof that her main economic interests were based there.

The ruling means Spain’s tax agency must return the money it collected from Shakira and also pay interest and legal costs. The decision applies only to the 2011 case and can still be appealed to Spain’s supreme court.

Shakira had separately settled another tax case in 2023 involving unpaid taxes from 2012 to 2014. She agreed to pay fines to avoid a trial and possible prison sentence.

After the latest ruling, Shakira said the court had confirmed that no fraud was committed in 2011 and described the past eight years as damaging to her reputation, health and family life.