Shakira has decided to defend her innocence again after being convicted of tax evasion, a year after admitting fraud and avoiding prison. This time, Shakira has decided not to speak to a journalist, but to sign a letter – published by El Mundo – in which she accuses the Tax Agency of “criminalizing” her in order to rebuild her “credibility.”
In her opinion, the Treasury has manipulated reality by confusing her continuous visits to Spain to develop her relationship with Gerard Piqué with an intention to settle in the country. She points out that in 2011 she spent “only 73 days in Spain, when the minimum established by law to be a tax resident is 183 days.” In addition, she accuses the Tax Agency of using a sexist bias against her, pointing out that there is a “structural sexism” that “survives in state bureaucracy” and that “it takes for granted that a woman can only follow a man, even when it is not convenient for her.”
On the other hand, Shakira blames the Treasury for having set a “trap” for her: “When I decided to live in Spain as an expatriate in 2015, the Tax Agency admitted that I had not been a resident for the previous 10 years, and then, immediately afterward, tried to charge me for those years.”
In addition to pointing the finger at the Tax Agency for blaming her publicly in the media, using a “childish and moralistic story” against her to portray themselves as “representatives of justice and decency,” Shakira categorically denies having defrauded the public coffers. She claims that she not only “fulfilled her obligations” but that she “paid much more than she should have.” In fact, Shakira claims that the decade she lived in Spain was “financially wasted” despite the fact that she performed 120 concerts in 90 cities, because “everything I earned was kept by the Spanish State.” She says that her current assets consist of “what I earned before arriving in Spain and what I earned after leaving it.”
In other parts of the letter, Shakira points out the “arrogance” of the Spanish State, compares its method to the “Inquisition” and explains again that her decision to make a pact was motivated by her desire to protect her children, “not out of cowardice or guilt.”
At the end of her text, Shakira reaffirms herself and once again questions the credibility of the Tax Agency. She indicates that “in this small article there is more truth about me than in everything that was published in 2023,” and concludes: “The officials of the Tax Agency who judged me may not be very happy to read it, but, frankly, I care very little.”
