As Spanish prosecutors seek to cage the Shewolf with an eight-year prison term and a fine of 24 million euros ($31 million CAD), Shakira has spoken out about her tax fraud case, claiming that "these are false accusations."
In a new interview with Elle, the Colombian pop star addressed the accusation of failing to pay her taxes between 2012 and 2014 — a time period she alleges she wasn't living in Spain; her official residence was in the Bahamas.
When the publication's Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked about Shakira's decision to reject the prosecution's settlement offer from this summer and take the case to trial, she sighed. "Because I have to fight for what I believe; because there are false accusations," the artist said.
She continued:
First of all, I didn't spend 183 days per year at that time at all. 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. And finally, I was advised by one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world, PricewaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one.
However, 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 favour.
Her hips rest their case.
Shakira has arguably suffered enough in Spain: she had her purse stolen by wild boars and people just watched it happen! She deserves better!
In a new interview with Elle, the Colombian pop star addressed the accusation of failing to pay her taxes between 2012 and 2014 — a time period she alleges she wasn't living in Spain; her official residence was in the Bahamas.
When the publication's Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked about Shakira's decision to reject the prosecution's settlement offer from this summer and take the case to trial, she sighed. "Because I have to fight for what I believe; because there are false accusations," the artist said.
She continued:
First of all, I didn't spend 183 days per year at that time at all. 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. And finally, I was advised by one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world, PricewaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one.
However, 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 favour.
Her hips rest their case.
Shakira has arguably suffered enough in Spain: she had her purse stolen by wild boars and people just watched it happen! She deserves better!