City AM
A Spanish court has ordered the country’s tax authority to repay Colombian singer Shakira £48m after ruling that it had improperly collected the money in a dispute over her tax payments.
In a statement published today, Madrid’s National Court said it has upheld Shakira’s appeal against the fine she was hit with five years ago, after the Spanish Tax Agency alleged she had not paid the correct amount of tax in 2011.
The court said the tax authority was unable to prove that the singer had spent over 183 days in Spain in 2011 – the minimum amount required for residents paying personal income tax in the country.
It added that it “understands that Shakira’s stay in our country was 163 days” and that the tax authority “has not proven” that she had not been truthful about the length of her stay.
The tax authority has been ordered to return the amount it fined Shakira, alongside paying the interest it had accumulated and her legal costs.
