The charitable humanitarian Shakira has responded to claims that she used shell companies to avoid paying tax in Spain, the country she and her family spent time in between 2012 and 2014.

Full story below…

Her husband Gerard Pique‘ plays for FC Barcelona meaning she spent some time in Spain to support him as they raised their child.

Now, Spanish prosecutors have filed tax fraud charges against her as they believe she used 14 shell companies to hide money they say should have been sent to the Spanish taxman.

 Spanish law holds that resident who spend 183 days or more in the country must pay taxes on their worldwide income in Spain. According to prosectors, Shakira claimed “on many occasions” that her tax residence was in the Bahamas while in fact she had not spent any time in the Bahamas between 2012 and 2014.

She has responded via her communications camp who say she learned about the case through the press and made no attempt to hide the money her legal enemies say she owes.

The most serious thing is that the Office of the Prosecutor has filtered it by handing it out to the press even before the judge exceeded his role in order to hurt her reputation, which is so relevant for an artist of Shakira’s status.

Adding…

She has shown that in no case has her stay exceeded 183 days of residence in Spain between 2012 and 2014.

The criteria of “sporadic absences” applied by the Office of the Prosecutor is meaningless since it only applies when there is a previous presence. During the discussion period, Shakira was a foreign citizen and until 2015 she was never a tax resident in Spain. In the complaint of the Prosecutor’s Office, a presumed presence is artificially applied for the first time to impose a tax on Spain to someone who has not previously resided. This fact makes a fundamental difference with respect to other cases and, therefore, makes it a clear ATTRIBUTABLE COLLECTION.

Here’s hoping this matter is resolved swiftly as the performer recently announced that she will spend the larger part of 2019 building schools for disenfranchised and marginalised children.

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