The Audiencia Nacional has annulled the resolution of the Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal (TEAC) issued in July 2021 against Shakira in relation to her taxation corresponding to the 2011 fiscal year, in a ruling that orders the refund of the amounts paid as a consequence of that resolution, together with the corresponding legal interests.
The judicial decision, however, does not close the procedure. The Tax Agency has confirmed that it will urge the State Legal Service to file an appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court against this judgment.
The procedure refers to the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and the Wealth Tax for the 2011 fiscal year, a matter distinct from the criminal procedure that affected Shakira for subsequent fiscal years.
What the Audiencia Nacional has decided
In its ruling, the Audiencia Nacional declares that the resolution challenged by the Colombian singer does not conform to law. As a consequence, it annuls both that TEAC resolution and the administrative acts derived from it and agrees to the refund of the amounts paid, in addition to the payment of the corresponding legal interests.
The judgment also imposes costs on the Administration. The judicial resolution includes arguments about the artist's tax residence in 2011, a central issue in the procedure.
According to the ruling, the essential criterion for determining tax residence in Spain was permanence in Spanish territory for at least 183 days, a requirement that, according to the assessment included in the file itself, would not have been met in Shakira's case during that fiscal year.
The Audiencia also points out that there was no family nucleus in Spain for legal purposes nor was it proven that the main nucleus or the base of her activities or economic interests was in Spanish territory, neither directly nor indirectly.
The judgment adds that the business network attributed to the singer was located outside Spain and that the majority of her economic activity also took place outside national territory.
Shakira's response and the Treasury's announcement
After the judgment was known, Shakira publicly celebrated the resolution and maintained that fraud never existed. The artist assured that she has endured for more than eight years a situation of strong public exposure linked to this process and affirmed that the judicial ruling corrects that situation.
Her lawyer, José Luis Prada, defended that the resolution comes after a long and highly exhausting procedure and stressed the importance of judicial independence. For its part, the singer's representation agency maintained that Hacienda kept 60 million euros retained for years, linked, according to that version, to the working capital of the 2011 world tour and its associated expenses.
That point is part of the position expressed by the artist's entourage. The Tax Agency, for its part, confirmed that it will appeal. Sources from the body also recalled that Shakira accepted at the time convictions for crimes against the Public Treasury corresponding to the fiscal years 2012, 2013 and 2014, while this specific procedure refers exclusively to the fiscal year 2011 in administrative proceedings. With the announcement of the appeal, the case will now remain open in the Supreme Court.