Shakira may have been the toast of the MTV VMAs earlier this month, but in Spain the singer is facing new charges of tax evasion for the second time.
The Associated Press reports that Spanish authorities say prosecutors have charged the Colombian pop star again with failing to pay €6.7 million (approximately $9.5 million CAD) in taxes, this time on her 2018 income. Although she lives in Miami, FL, they allege that Shakira has used an offshore company within a tax haven to avoid paying the tax.
She is already facing tax fraud charges in a separate case claiming she owes €14.5 million (more than $20 million CAD) from taxes owed between 2012 to 2014, when she lived in Barcelona. A trial is currently set for November 20. If convicted Shakira could face up to eight years in prison.
Shakira, however, vehemently denies the allegations, noting that her main residence at the time was in the Bahamas.
In a statement last November, her attorneys argued, “With no solid evidence to support the charges against her, she has been fiercely persecuted in the criminal and media spheres using unacceptable methods to damage her reputation and force her to come to a settlement agreement."
According to Spanish law, any person who spends more than half a year in the country is required to pay tax on their global income. Shakira claimed that her primary residence was in the Bahamas and only visited Spain on a number of occasions to spend time with FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué, who she was dating at the time.
Spanish prosecutors argue that Shakira actually exceeded the number, spending 242 days in Spain in 2012, 212 days in 2013 and 243 days in 2014. But Shakira says she was only required to start paying income tax in Spain after enrolling her son (with Piqué), Milan, in school there during 2014.