Shakira faces $7.1M tax evasion charges after denying $15.4M accusation in past
MIAMI, FLORIDA: Shakira has been slapped with fresh charges in a case related to tax evasion. The artist was first accused of tax evasion in 2018, per People.
Shakira could face a prison sentence of eight years if found guilty in the previous trial, as reported by the Associated Press.
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Where does Shakira live now?
Shakira presently lives in Miami, where she was served the fresh notice. The Colombian pop star stayed in Spain when she was married to soccer star Gerard Pique.
The 46-year-old has publicly denied the tax evasion allegations. Shakira had earlier said, “I have to fight for what I believe; because these are false accusations. First of all, I didn’t spend 183 days per year at that time at all,” in a conversation with Elle.
She noted, “I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world. Second, I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them.”
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She also added, “And finally, I was advised by one of the world's four biggest tax specialist firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one.”
According to the Associated Press, the singer owed the government $15.4 million, from the period between 2012 and 2014. The case will be tried in Barcelona starting from November 20 for her previous charges, reports BBC.
How much does she owe as per fresh accusations?
As per the new investigation, Shakira owes $7.1 million in tax and used an offshore company based in a tax haven to avoid the payment, per Rolling Stone.
Shakira further said last year, "Even without evidence to support these fictional claims, as they usually do, they’ve resorted to a salacious press campaign to try to sway people, and apply pressure in the media along with the threat of reputational damage in order to coerce settlement agreements."
"It is well known that the Spanish tax authorities do this often not only with celebrities like me (or [Cristiano] Ronaldo, Neymar, [Xabi] Alonso, and many more), it also happens unjustly to the regular taxpayer. It’s just their style. But I’m confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor."
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Apart from the case, Shakira also mentioned her split from Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique, and talked about her support system consisting of friends such as will.i.am and Chris Martin.
Shakira shares two sons, Milan and Sasha, with Gerard Pique.