Spanish court orders 55 mn euro tax refund to Shakira

BSS
Published On: 18 May 2026, 15:31

MADRID, May 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Spanish court has ordered the tax authority to refund Colombian pop star Shakira more than 55 million euros ($64 million) improperly collected in a dispute over her 2011 taxes, according to a ruling seen Monday.

The National Audience said tax authorities had failed to prove that the "Hips Don't Lie" singer spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011, the legal threshold requiring residents to pay personal income tax in the country.

"On the contrary, the court found that Shakira spent 163 days in Spain and that the tax authorities had therefore failed to prove that the singer had the centre of her economic interests in Spain," according to the ruling issued last month which was seen by AFP on Monday.

The court ordered "the reimbursement of the sums paid, together with legal interest", cancelling the tax assessments and multi-million-euro fines imposed by the tax authorities, which had considered the singer a tax resident in Spain in 2011.

The ruling comes as Shakira is set to wrap up her record-breaking "Women Don't Cry Anymore" world tour with a concert residency in Madrid starting in September.

  • Latest
  • Most Viewed
DSE announces semi-annual rebalancing of DS30 Index, adds 3 companies
Ansar-VDP set for high-tech transformation 
ICAB appoints Md. Quamruzzaman as new CEO
Commercial snakehead fish farming boosts Khulna livelihoods
DMP to tighten security for Ratha Yatra processions
Border guards deployed across 11 flood-hit districts in Bangladesh
Bangladesh to consider IMF partnership only if public interest is protected: Finance Minister
JS budget session resumes
President mourns death of former Acting President Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar
Senate meeting at CU on Aug 8
১০