[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

It seems Shakira’s hips do lie a little, especially when it comes to paying taxes.

Spain is coming down hard on the singer, charging her with tax fraud for allegedly failing to pay $7,1 million (around R133 million) in taxes in 2018.

Rolling Stone reports that Barcelona prosecutors have accused the pop star of using an offshore company located in a tax haven to avoid paying the tax.

But that’s not even the least of it.

While Barcelonian authorities are investigating this alleged tax fraud that occurred in 2018, Shakira is already set to stand trial in a separate $13.9 million (R261 million) tax evasion case for allegedly not paying income taxes from 2012 to 2014.

Shakira, Shakira, you better sort your sh*t out.

The reason the singer is being charged with tax fraud is also because she listed her residence as the Bahamas even though she was spending more than half the year in Spain every year. Spanish tax law stipulates that anyone living in the country for more than six months is considered a resident and must pay taxes.

Shakira has previously denied all allegations, and in a 2022 interview with Elle called them “false accusations” and reiterated that she “didn’t spend 183 days per year” in Spain during those years because she was “busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world.”

“I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them,” Shakira added. “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.”

The singer faces up to eight years in prison if convicted in the first trial.

[source:rollingstone]