Less than two months before the trial on November 20 in which Shakira is accused of tax fraud, the Prosecutor's Office has filed a new complaint against the singer for the same crimes but from another fiscal year. The Economic Crimes Prosecutor's Office now claims a debt of 6,686,502 euros for alleged fraud in his 2018 declaration in the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and the Wealth Tax (IP), figures that would have reduced through a network of companies in tax havens.
The complaint has been filed in the courts of Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona), where the singer lived with her ex-partner, Gerard Piqué, but she has not yet been summoned to testify. As Shakira now lives in Miami, the prosecutor has requested that the interrogation of the singer during the investigation phase of this case can be done by videoconference.
The Prosecutor's Office maintains that Shakira "moved by the desire not to pay taxes on all of her income and to stop paying what was due to her into the State Treasury, consciously and voluntarily presented false personal income tax and IP declarations," in the that he allegedly omitted to declare income and deducted expenses that were not appropriate in order to reduce the amount he had to pay to the Tax Agency.
In its letter, the Prosecutor's Office points out that the Colombian artist, being a resident of Esplugues de Llobregat, was obliged to file personal income tax and IP declarations and pay taxes on all of her worldwide income regardless of where it was produced and what the residence of the payers was. . And they accuse it of using “a corporate network, deriving income to companies domiciled in countries with low taxation and high opacity” to avoid paying the full amount of said taxes. Therefore, adds the Prosecutor's Office, they were “instrumental” companies since they did not carry out any activity.
According to these accusations, Shakira did not declare profits of 12.5 million dollars corresponding to the El Dorado World Tour, nor did she declare profits from companies for 2.5 million euros, she deducted duplicate taxes for an amount greater than 3 million euros, He deducted his own musical rights for an amount greater than 3 million euros and deducted unjustified personal expenses for an amount greater than 500,000 euros.
Specifically, the Prosecutor's Office believes that Shakira defrauded 5,361,146 euros in personal income tax in 2018, which is why it claims 6,061,316 euros from her, taking into account what she paid voluntarily and late payment interest; and that she allegedly defrauded 773,600 euros with her IP, for which she claims a debt of 625,190 euros. The companies that she allegedly used to avoid paying taxes were incorporated in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Malta, the Virgin Islands, Panama, the Bahamas, the United States or Liechenstein.
In parallel, Shakira is awaiting trial (scheduled for November 20) for allegedly defrauding the Treasury of 14.5 million euros between 2012 and 2014 with these same taxes, for which the Prosecutor's Office demands that she be sentenced to eight years and two months in prison. jail. The artist rejected offers of agreements with the public ministry because she “completely trusts her innocence.”
The artist from Barranquilla has already paid the 14.5 million that the Tax Agency demanded plus another three million in interest, but that gesture will not prevent Shakira from sitting in the dock. For Shakira's legal team, this case represents “a total violation of her rights, since she has always demonstrated impeccable conduct, as a person and taxpayer.”
