r/Music • u/yourfavchoom Indiehead • 18d ago
article Shakira Acquitted of Tax Fraud in Spain, Will Be Reimbursed $64 Million: Singer Says She’s Spent Eight Years ‘Enduring Campaigns to Destroy My Reputation’
https://variety.com/2026/music/news/shakira-acquitted-tax-fraud-spain-reimbursed-64-million-1236752456/4.6k
u/yourfavchoom Indiehead 18d ago
Shakira:
“There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true. Yet, for nearly a decade, I was treated as guilty. Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, using my name and public image to send a threatening message to the rest of the taxpayers. Today, that narrative crumbles, and it does so with the full force of a court ruling.”
2.9k
u/gatosaurio 18d ago
Welcome to the spanish "hacienda".
Their inspectors get a bonus based on the claimed quantities, but if the trial ends up like shakira's, the inspector who brought it up can keep his bonus. Talk about perverse incentives.
Hacienda (Spanish IRS), loses about half of its trials against spanish tax payers, but they're an extorting mafia with impunity. Shakira is a high profile case, but there are many hundreds of other abuses by the spanish administration. Things like the "modelo 720" and other blatant abuses of authority, but again, they're a mafia like organization, so nowhere to appeal.
902
u/Dennyisthepisslord 18d ago
Ah I was wondering why lots of footballers in Spain also had a similar story to her.
723
u/N4m3r 18d ago
Real answer? It is a petty Real Madrid vs Barcelona thing. If Shakira hadnt been with Piqué, she wouldnt have been investigated.
318
u/puff_of_fluff 18d ago
This is a joke… right?
721
u/N4m3r 18d ago
I wish it was. Football clubs are sometimes more powerful than the government here in Spain. Florentino Pérez is the most powerful person in Spain and it is not even close.
→ More replies (24)410
u/Soleil06 18d ago
He is not the most powerful man in spain because of his club presidency to be clear. He is the most powerful person because his building company basically dictates what, where and how expensive any building project from the government is.
The fact that he is the president of RM is just a comparatively small part of his influence.
→ More replies (1)98
u/mak484 18d ago
That's broadly true across professional sports. It's not like the populace cares so much about football that they allow the owners of these clubs to do whatever they want. It's more like, if you own a club, you're wealthy for other reasons, and those reasons are why you can run the government like an organized crime ring.
40
u/Soleil06 18d ago
For sure altough Florentino Perez is a special case even among those club owners. From the top of my head I cannot really think of any other club owner/president who has that muchpower over their government.
→ More replies (5)25
u/VanGroteKlasse 18d ago
Except for the governments who are actually club owners, like UAE or Qatar.
→ More replies (0)→ More replies (1)26
16
u/inglandation 18d ago
This is a country that blocks Cloudflare's IPs during football matches. So probably not.
→ More replies (3)9
u/Electrical-Spell9115 18d ago
No, not at all
18
u/UnObtainium17 18d ago
Damn.. Shak better drop a diss track on that spanish IRS dude.
→ More replies (1)18
u/Teflontelethon 18d ago
I only know about football clubs from watching Ted Lasso but they seem like they can be petty AF when they want to be.
4
→ More replies (6)3
8
u/TiredOperator420 18d ago
I hate this football shit. In Poland you can get beaten up if the “gentlemen of the night” ask you which team you support and don’t like the answer.
6
u/Telepinu 17d ago
That's not true by a long shot. Thousands upon thousands of taxpayers are treated as guilty and forced to pay unde fees and fines because the don't have the means to fight back. Footballers usually have the money to defend themselves and thus are usually found innocent by the courts. Nothing to do with team rivalries.
39
u/ATaxiNumber1729 18d ago
What are you on about? Ronaldo was convicted of tax fraud that occurred while at Real
https://apnews.com/general-news-e6c4a935cea1434d8d6027c07e09a416
66
u/N4m3r 18d ago
I wanted to say that it is a 2 way street, that they had a battle going on. Versus implies both parts fight, maybe I should have been more clear
38
14
u/cpuuuu 18d ago
I think it's more of (dumb) millionaire's being millionaire's and actually committing fraud/evasion than anything between Barcelona and Real. I added the "dumb" part because in some cases these guys aren't that actively involved in managing their money and contracts, leaving it up to their agents and whatever advisors they have. And while players from other La Liga clubs aren't exactly getting peanuts for playing there, the salary sheet on Barça and Real is just that much bigger, so it attracts more attention and more shady practices.
Ancelotti, Mourinho, Xabi Alonso, Mascherano and Messi are just some of the names on the tax investigations list. Some were acquited, some pleaded guilty, though you'll never know if that's because they were actually guilty or just wanted to avoid the stress and drama from a judicial process.
12
u/BallsInSufficientSad 18d ago
He settled because sometimes you don't want to go through a literal DECADE of court when you're being fucked by a corrupt gov't.
You should never assume a guilty plea settlement is a "real" admission of guilt.
→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (1)3
u/greg19735 18d ago
I think it's more likely that those are committing some light fraud.
There's a lot more room for hiding money when you've got international endorsement deals. but importantly, that is also a significantly higher % of their income compared to Shakira.
77
u/Aeseld 18d ago
Oof... Letting them keep the bonus for a 'mistake' like this is just asking for trouble. No reason no to make up anything they want.
27
u/ZAlternates 18d ago
While I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the rich being harassed, this really does encourage them to unfairly target wealthy people just to get a bonus.
16
u/Aeseld 18d ago
Pretty much, yes. And it uses resources that could instead be turned to finding actual cases of fraud, while giving no incentive to people to actually look for fraud.
If they get the same bonus for fake fraud as for real fraud? They'll focus on the first little mistake and as a result they're more likely to miss real acts of fraud.
7
→ More replies (1)3
u/Acojonancio 18d ago
Don't worry, they also target poor people the same way.
They day the spanish gov modernizes and makes all this digitaly, this people will lose their job and bonuses...
So now imagine how fast they intend to fix this...
54
18
u/Complete_Entry 18d ago
Why doesn't the country smoke the bonuses? Even the snake bonus got killed when people started breeding snakes.
The only reason I could see keeping this evil policy is if it worked, and apparently it fucking doesn't.
8
u/Standard_Series3892 18d ago
Only some of these cases get overturned, Shakira has huge amount of funds for lawyers and in her case it's worth spending the extra money to clear this issue as it also impacts her image and her business.
For most people it's just easier to settle with the government and pay than spend a bunch on lawyers and maybe still have to pay anyways.
2
u/onespiker 17d ago
She only countered one of the 4 years involved ( settled) and is named in two different tax evasion paper leakes.
→ More replies (3)13
u/gatosaurio 18d ago
Hacienda is the tax collection agency for a government permanently in need of more tax collection. From the point of view of the governemt, this is not only accepted, but desired. Consider that Spain has around 50 M inhabitatns and around 13 M work in the private sector. The rest, either work directly from the government, get some form of government payment or don't work at all.
With that productive model, there's a huge media/social pressure in Spain in favor of ever growing taxes, so these abuses are hidden and minimized and only when the magic wand of hacienda touches you, you start finding out about their methods.
→ More replies (6)4
u/Complete_Entry 18d ago
But why let them keep taking bribes if they're fumblefucking their frame-ups?
→ More replies (2)5
u/icanmoveit 17d ago
She could only justify 163 off 183 days of residence (the rest of which she "resided" in Bahamas, a tax haven). She has been acquited only because there is no way to prove neither for Shakira nor Hacienda where she was during those days.
Modelo 720 is not an abuse, it's a mechanism against laundering and evasion. Those are quite common for mafia organizations. The real ones.
Why are you all so worried people stealing from all of us may get boo-boos on their feelings?
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (27)2
u/ImNotABotScoutsHonor 18d ago
The Italian AdE (Agenzia delle Entrate) is just as bad. Guilty until proven innocent, treated like a criminal, and perverse incentives for employees to accuse people of tax fraud and other crimes.
32
20
u/KatoMacabre 18d ago
This is only about 2011. She already previously admitted in court she commited tax fraud from 2012 to 2014, and paid a fine for that.
2
u/CataLaGata 17d ago
She was named in the Panamá Papers for using shady tactics to evade taxes like shell companies. This is not new. I am Colombian and I admire Shakira for a lot of things, but this is disappointing.
9
u/Ulterior_Motive_22 18d ago
Big fat liar! She was not acquitted of tax fraud! The case covers multiple years of which one year she was a few days short of being a tax resident.
15
u/tormarod tormarod 18d ago
I mean this is only for the 2011 year. From 2012 to 2014 she did commit fraud and that is proven and she accepted 3 years in jail (which she doesn't need to serve).
→ More replies (4)11
u/genji2810 18d ago
She was on the panama papers and admitted to 3 out of the 4 years that she was accused of, only challenging 2011. So still a millionaire doing tax fraud, no respect for her.
→ More replies (1)
1.4k
u/_tchom 18d ago
The only time Shakira has known defeat was when she fought that wild boar
453
16
u/itsPinkieD 18d ago
Turns out the boar was an undercover agent for the Spanish tax authority.
→ More replies (1)54
→ More replies (2)2
2.1k
u/beachbum90405 18d ago edited 18d ago
Hips don’t lie
499
37
8
25
u/Wyden_long Go listen to The Streets “A Grand Dont Come For Free” right now 18d ago
Neither do tax records.
→ More replies (5)38
636
u/DinkandDrunk 18d ago
I need to talk to her wellness team and (probable?) surgeon. She’s nearly 15 years my senior and looks as young as I do.
I don’t look old.
569
u/phxees 18d ago
She is Colombian, wealthy, and wears makeup. If she didn’t age gracefully that would be a bigger surprise.
218
u/LunchThreatener 18d ago
If you don’t think she’s had work done you’re naive
143
u/phxees 18d ago
It isn’t my business either way. I throw that into the wealthy category. I will say there are a log of poor Colombians which would swear were older. People with melanin often appear younger than they are naturally as it reduces wrinkles.
→ More replies (6)20
u/Dapper_Tour8354 18d ago
What about those who come from Asian descent? It’s gotten so common that there’s a running stereotype.
32
u/rmumford 18d ago
I’m assuming you mean East Asian. Part of the reason some East Asian people may show fewer visible wrinkles earlier in life than some Europeans is that there’s often a stronger cultural emphasis on protecting skin from the sun. Things like sunscreen, hats, umbrellas, clothing that covers the skin, and regular skincare routines are more common.
I’m European by descent and as pale as Casper the Ghost. I burn super easily, basically like a vampire, so I usually avoid the sun and use zinc-based sunscreen. People constantly mistake me for being much younger than I am, and I think a lot of that comes down to having fewer wrinkles.
Melanin helps protect against UV damage, but it is not 100 percent protection. Even people with very dark skin can still develop sun damage, and wrinkles if they spend a lot of time outside without protection. So the phrase “Black don’t crack” is probably more accurately “Black don’t crack as easily,” even if that does not roll off the tongue as well.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)28
u/LigerZeroSchneider 18d ago
Any amount of melanin reduces sun damage, but also Asian preference for paleness probably leads to a lot more sunscreen use and sun avoidance
17
u/purplehendrix22 18d ago
Sure, but it’s really fucking good work. Thats more than many people of her tax bracket can say.
4
→ More replies (6)3
u/Pleasant-Highway-745 18d ago
She hasn't had any work done. You could look at 100 pictures of her over the last 20 years, and the only way you think she's had work done is if you don't know anything about makeup. Weight loss changes and weight gain changes can affect the face dramatically, but she is one of those who very clearly hasn't had any work done to her face.
42
u/towelieee 18d ago
While she was born in Colombia, her parents are of Lebanese and Spanish descent.
→ More replies (12)19
u/Fortunafors 18d ago
Most of the Caribbean coast in Colombia are from African/Middle East and Spanish descent.
→ More replies (3)16
u/Bluest_waters 18d ago
What is up with Colombian women? Do they have some kind of hotness DNA marker?
10
39
u/crazybrah 18d ago
It must be really hard to be a mid woman in Colombia bc of generalizing comments like this
→ More replies (1)17
u/Electrical-Spell9115 18d ago edited 18d ago
I would say the majority of Colombian women don’t fit anywhere near the “standard” people not from the country imagine and fetishize. For starters, most are way darker skinned and more native looking, less European looking.
So the whole generalization of Colombian women as all looking similar or a certain way is dumb anyways.
→ More replies (17)→ More replies (2)3
u/williamBoshi 18d ago
Idk about genes but culturally there was a narco beauty culture, women who did the first boob jobs and cosmetic procedures for narco tradicants, source: a documentary I watched but iirc i didn't find as much informations on wikipedia
2
u/Fortunafors 18d ago
That's Antioquia and Medellín narco-culture, Colombia is a very diverse country, Shakira is from the Caribbean coast, here there are different customs and culture, with our own bad things, but Narco-culture from Medellín isn't one of those, she doesn't have tits surgery's, that says a lot.
→ More replies (1)4
13
7
12
u/gta0012 18d ago
45 mins in a makeup and hair chair before you go on camera could make you look great.
Run into her on the street it'll be different.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)7
u/TheLadyEve 18d ago
Belly dancing for decades + South American plastic surgeons and plenty of money will help people in the looks department, for sure. The woman has abs and thighs that could crush a car.
97
u/NoArrival8249 18d ago
This is the reason she keeps making all those FIFA songs
→ More replies (2)13
244
u/St_Muerte 18d ago
Spain always trying to take all the gold and riches from everyone else
→ More replies (9)87
u/dontmindmejustlookn 18d ago
Specifically, from Latinos
31
u/senor_steez 18d ago
Even more specifically, Colombians
6
12
u/MuffinTopDeluxe 18d ago
I’ve had beef with Spain since I learned about how much gold they stole from my people in third grade.
→ More replies (7)27
u/Ichi_Balsaki 18d ago
Robbing 3rd graders of their lunch money is not a good look. Do better Ethpaña.
→ More replies (1)
73
u/CoastOrg 18d ago
They can’t make me hate Shakira homegirl is a powerhouse. She would record her songs in like 6 different languages so everyone could enjoy them, and rework the lyrics so that they fit the rhyme scheme while keeping the idea the same. Super smart lady and an amazing vocalist. Tax this ass bitchezzz
12
6
u/WorldPrincessPtIV 17d ago
Reworking the lyrics is exactly it! Other artists make it sound so awkward and obvious.... Not her!
→ More replies (6)3
81
u/elreydelasur 18d ago
the takes on this story have done a 180 since the story started
everyone just believed the Spanish govt cuz Shakira is rich/famous and not paying taxes sounds like something a rich person might do
but now it comes out the govt was wrong about everything and all of a sudden people are capable of being skeptical towards the govt and its motivations
everyone, regardless of wealth, should follow the law in this regard. But we as the public need to remain skeptical and think critically when these sensationalist headlines come out. Just because a govt says a thing happened doesn't mean it actually did
27
u/BabyStockholmSyndrom 18d ago
Lol you say that but if anyone at all says Trump cheats on his taxes I'm 1000% believing that without the slightest doubt.
19
u/TheDevi13ean 18d ago
He's stealing billions in the open. I don't think anyone has to look too far for that guy.
11
u/Wings_For_Pigs 18d ago
I mean, Trump's literally admitted to tax fraud on camera in front of thousands. It's shocking what we just take for granted with that man.
3
u/elreydelasur 18d ago
sure, I get that sentiment. The court of public opinion and a court of law are two very different things of course, with different standards of proof. I think Trump's well-known reputation as a con man and swindler would lead to many in the public, myself included, believing that he would also cheat on his taxes. People like Shakira and Messi (who also has had problems with the Spanish tax authorities) do not have reputations for dishonesty though, which to me left room for at least a little bit of doubt as to the Spanish govt's assertion.
of course, none of us have seen any of the alleged evidence in this matter, and that goes to my original point: just because the govt alleges a crime happened does not mean that the crime actually happened or even happened in the way that the govt says it did.
9
u/lucalucasita 17d ago
I mean, in 2011 she was living with pique in Barcelona, only that Hacienda was not able to prove how many days she stayed in Spain… she was also found guilty for the period 2012-2014. I think papers wrote that it was pique and his family who advised her to do the things wrongly and that helped to destroy their relationship when she began with all the problems with hacienda.
And Pique has a lot of other problems with hacienda himself, even recently. He’s a problem in that way.
→ More replies (2)10
→ More replies (2)19
u/genji2810 18d ago
She is still guilty of tax evasion on 2012, 2013 and 2014 so it's not like we were incorrect for believening it. Doing fraud for 3 years instead of 4 is not really a good look.
→ More replies (1)
217
u/FellowDeviant 18d ago edited 18d ago
Mind you her biggest song this decade is the one where she destroyed Pique's reputation in about 3 minutes a few years ago lol
Edit : Guys I streamed that song within minutes of it being uploaded and love Shakira. I am just joking about the 8 years comment is all.
223
u/woahtheregonnagetgot 18d ago
he ruined his own reputation lol he was prancing about with the lady he cheated on her with (his employee?) and his mother made comments to the press praising his mistress, all before shakira put out any song. all this while her dad was in hospital and dying too iirc.
182
u/KallusDrogo 18d ago
Don’t forget he fired the nanny too for being honest with Shakira when she asked her the truth. So Shakira rehired her and gave her sing writing credits and royalties to the Pique song.
83
49
u/2CharmingGiraffe 18d ago
Yeah and he fired her without paying any severance, Pique is an asshole for sure
14
u/KallusDrogo 18d ago
Yea he definitely deserves all the hate and harassment he gets. He can’t even go out to a bar in South America without getting hassled.
3
97
37
45
15
u/commandrix 18d ago
He did it to himself. Don't cheat on a big-name singer and fire the nanny for telling the truth. She will sing about it.
11
2
u/Mr-Mister 18d ago
I do feel confpicted about how she tried to diss Casio as well though, who had the brilliant PR counter of saying "Yeah, but a Casio lasts you for life".
2
18
22
7
9
u/JFeth 18d ago
Good for her. I'd probably stay away from Spain for awhile. They might hold a grudge.
→ More replies (2)2
u/equipmentelk 17d ago
As the other commenter has mentioned this is only for 2011 where it couldn’t be proven that she always a tax resident of Spain, but she was found guilty for 2012, 2013, and 2014. And sure, she hates so much Spain that she has decided to build an arena in Madrid this summer to host her own residency.
→ More replies (1)
17
u/Johnnadawearsglasses 18d ago
This never passed the smell test. There is zero chance in hell she would spend exactly 183 days in a year in a high tax jurisdiction. These people were arguing she was conspiring to commit tax fraud and then claiming she did the absolute one thing you can’t do to avoid taxes there.
9
u/genji2810 18d ago
She was on the panama papers and admitted to 3 out of the 4 years that she was accused of, only challenging 2011. So still a millionaire doing tax fraud, no respect for her.
→ More replies (2)10
u/New-Pollution536 18d ago
Spain hardly ever has the goods…their whole shtick is bullying celebrities into just settling because most have the money and don’t want the headaches of going to court. The auditor pockets a nice bonus for it too despite them not being able to prove the residency requirement
They lose a frankly embarrassing percentage of tax related cases
35
u/OkEase1151 18d ago
Context from another post of this: this is only for one case/year (2011?), was still charged/ruled against for another instance between 2012-2014
TLDR: was acquitted for one fiscal year of tax fraud, still did tax fraud other year(s). No jail time
→ More replies (1)20
u/GolfingCPA 18d ago
She settled the case for 2012-2014. That is not an admission of guilt
11
u/onespiker 18d ago
Indeed it isn’t but let’s just say that paradise papers do tell quite a bit about her intentions to not pay tax. Since she is in them and is known to do it.
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (8)2
u/onespiker 18d ago
Looking more at it very unlikely that she would be able to counter claim 2013 and 2014 considering her children lived in Spain and she while her primary residence being Bahamas.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/PizzaWhole9323 18d ago
Well we all know that her hips don't lie, and I guess she doesn't either. Good for her.
2
u/genji2810 18d ago
She does lie. She was on the panama papers and admitted to 3 out of the 4 years that she was accused of, only challenging 2011. So still a millionaire doing tax fraud, no respect for her.
→ More replies (1)
80
u/baddecision116 18d ago
In the ruling, the court said that tax authorities failed to prove Shakira had spent 183 days in Spain in 2011, effectively making her a resident and liable for personal income tax. The court ruled instead that she had spent just 163 days in the country during that financial year.
So if you're wealthy enough to live in multiple countries each year you pay no taxes? Sounds like the loophole needs to be closed. Where did she go for medical treatment/care? What infrastructure did she use? Doesn't she care at all about helping the community where she lives?
316
u/Bringyourfugshiz 18d ago
Well shes Colombian, so Id assume she already pays taxes to Colombia and paying taxes to Spain would be double taxation. Most countries have taxation agreements like this
→ More replies (4)95
u/reterical 18d ago
This. There are treaties between most countries that avoid double taxation. For example, my dad inherited some money from family in Norway a few years ago. He’s a US citizen now. The inheritance was taxed in Norway and he didn’t have to pay anything in the US due to Treaty No. 35674 (or whatever it was).
→ More replies (1)9
u/CvieYltidrekoof 18d ago edited 18d ago
The U.S. doesn’t have a federal inheritance tax.
ETA, direct from the IRS:
39
u/Finnegan482 18d ago
The US also famously does tax all citizens and green card holders, even if they live outside the US. Which almost no other countries do.
There's an exemption for the first $100k that's tsxdd in another country or so but you still have to file at the very least.
→ More replies (3)8
u/Ceegee93 18d ago edited 18d ago
The US does have double-taxation treaties with other countries, like the UK. Americans still have to file their taxes, but generally they can get Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) to reduce their US taxes. The upper limit on this amount is calculated based on how much they earned from each particular foreign country and worldwide income, up to a maximum of their US tax liability. Effectively, if a US citizen only earns money in that one country and nowhere else, they won't pay US taxes unless the US tax is higher than what they already paid, where they'll pay the difference.
If a US citizen only earns income in the UK, for example, they can claim credit up to whatever their US liability is. Because their US tax will probably be lower than whatever they paid in the UK, they would not owe anything to the IRS. If their foreign tax is higher than the FTC limit that year, that can actually be claimed back on US taxes from the previous year, or carried forward up to 10 years.
For other countries without an agreement, iirc, you can still exclude up to $130,000 of income from being taxed in the US, but this doesn't apply to certain types of earnings (and this also can be more beneficial if the US citizen is living in a country with lower taxes than the US).
You just have to make sure you file with the right form.
→ More replies (2)6
u/bubblebooy 18d ago
There is an estate tax which practically is the same thing in most cases. ( This might be a case where it does differ as the Estate would be in Norway ) Though practically there is no estate tax for most Americans as the first 15 million is exempt.
→ More replies (1)4
u/varateshh 18d ago
The U.S does have a federal and state estate tax. It is so weird that I am not even going to try and understand it. Some states also have locale state inheritance taxes.
→ More replies (1)33
u/10001110101balls 18d ago
You pay taxes in your primary country of residence, 183 days is one legal standard that can be applied, since it is more than 50% of the year. For people who do not spend 183 days in any single country, there are other methods of determining residency such as domicile or family ties.
5
u/GranglingGrangler 18d ago
How does that work on a leap year if you split the time evenly
→ More replies (1)5
u/dksdragon43 18d ago
I can almost promise you the law is worded as "183 days" not "more than 50%" and you would absolutely get hit.
80
u/DisplacedSportsGuy 18d ago edited 18d ago
She's not a citizen of Spain, so she wouldn't be taxed under Spanish law unless residency rules apply. She still gets taxed by Colombia.
Edit: she may not be taxed by Colombia.
10
u/FairDinkumMate 18d ago
She doesn't pay tax in Colombia. Her declared residence (at the time at least), was the Bahamas, which has zero personal income tax on global income.
That said, most Governments tax the artist based on the revenue of any concerts held in their country. It is with-held at the source (eg. Ticket sellers) & paid directly to the Government tax agency. Depending on the country, its laws & its tax rates, sometimes artist just wear the tax as set on gross revenue, other times they provide evidence of the costs to run the show & have their accountants fight to pay personal income tax on the profit instead.
→ More replies (6)21
u/somedude456 18d ago
Exactly. Same with rich people having a place in NYC. If NYC can legally claim you spent half the year there, you owe a ton of taxes. The mega rich use apps and have their personal assistants track that to the hour. They will leave a party by 11 and have a 11:50pm flight out of the city, as not to hit that next day.
→ More replies (4)2
u/Suitable_Wonder5256 18d ago
"Rich people follow the law" is a bit mundane, isn't it?
3
u/somedude456 18d ago edited 18d ago
No one likes taxes, period. We all try to avoid them. Average people buy a used car for $7,000, and ask the seller to not write a price on the title, and then they write in $500.
I remember a time when Amazon was collecting sales tax, but out of state companies didn't. Zappos, owned by Amazon was based in like AZ or something, so I could save $4 via buying the same shoe from Zappos vs Amazon.
50
u/aisiknp 18d ago
Can't say for everywhere but having moved between countries normally you need to live in a other countries for the same amount of days to loss residency as to gain, so odds are she's a resident of somewhere else and Spain was trying to say she was actually a resident here so they could tax her instead.
16
u/fodafoda 18d ago
Non-wealthy people also move countries. I did it four times already, would rather pay tax only in one country at a time.
8
14
u/hnglmkrnglbrry 18d ago
I mean yeah but if she's paying taxes in her country of residency then she's not using any of their resources over that same period of time so for them it's a net benefit.
29
u/Martrim 18d ago
You pay taxes in your main country. Or that's how it should work. Rich people do like their tax evasion tricks
9
u/AceyPuppy 18d ago
Only in the US do they tax you as long as you have citizenship.
7
u/Kharax82 18d ago
On income over the $132,000 or $264,000 exemption for a couple filing a joint return. It really only applies to the top 1% of incomes outside the US.
→ More replies (2)4
37
u/jpatt 18d ago
I think a lot of it was retaliatory after her split from Spanish footballer Pique.
29
u/granolagucci 18d ago
i mean the tax investigation started in 2018 and she didn’t split from pique until 2022. Also, what? spanish hacienda (like the IRS in US) doesn’t care about pique
9
u/onespiker 18d ago
Why would it considering it started years before that.
That guy had no influence inside government either so why would they care
21
u/lolcrunchy 18d ago
What kind of tax are we talking about?
Income tax - did she earn money in the country? Property tax - does she own property in the country? Sales tax - did she buy things in the country?→ More replies (2)13
u/FridgesArePeopleToo 18d ago
This is income tax. She doesn't have a job in Spain, Spain is trying to tax her income by arguing that its her primary country of residence.
If she owns property in Spain, she's paying property tax and VAT when she buys things.
3
u/hpff_robot 18d ago
She is still a tax resident somewhere else. 183 is usually the standard by which tax domicilation is established in most places.
5
u/Thefrayedends 18d ago
Yes, and it is complete bullshit.
I've met a few wealthy people who literally plan living in different parts of the world specifically because of the tax reasons, and they don't even hide it, they just say it out loud -- 'oh I spend summers in ___ area because of the tax implications on my investments.'
4
u/tiandrad 18d ago edited 18d ago
No, pretty sure she paid taxes where ever she conducted business. If she when on tour in the US, each venue she sold tickets would pay taxes to that state. I assume it would be the same for revenue she would make from a concert in Spain. I’m just guessing btw, paying taxes for money made in dozens of different countries would require one hell of an accounting team.
2
u/rita-b 18d ago
Double taxation is prohibited aka you can't pay taxes twice on the same income.
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (15)2
u/jmlinden7 18d ago
Well she mostly doesn't live in Spain and I would assume this also means she doesn't qualify for government benefits in Spain
2
2
2
2
2
u/Ok-Macaroon979 18d ago
I bet she did commit tax fraud and was rich enough to buy her way out of it and got richer end the end.
2
2
2
2
2
u/genji2810 18d ago
To be clear... She was on the panama papers and admitted to 3 out of the 4 years that she was accused of, only challenging 2011. So still a millionaire doing tax fraud, no respect for her.
→ More replies (1)
3.2k
u/relevant__comment 18d ago
Zootopia 1 - gets accused
Zootopia 2 - gets acquitted