The Prosecutor’s office of Barcelona has been sued against the singer Shakira for six alleged offences against the Public Treasury, in the wake of an alleged fraud of more than 14.5 million euros in income TAX and estate Tax, as advanced by The avant-Garde , to the hide through companies resident for tax purposes.
The complaint, which asks that it be acknowledged as being investigated, pointing out that the colombian left to submit the settlement of income TAX and estate Tax (IP) the exercise of 2012, 2013 and 2014 causing an economic prejudice to the Public Treasury of 12.3 million for TAX and 2,19 million for the estate tax, in this case, the Agència Tributària de Catalunya.
Societies are opaque to channel income
According to the Prosecution, the artist hatched a “plan” to not pay neither the income TAX nor the estate tax to the tax office, using Ultrabet a network of companies in tax havens that formally were the holders of the income was perceived.
Specifically, the public ministry argues that the singer, “channeled the movements of capital generated by their professional activity” -their performances or participation in the u.s. program ‘The Voice’, or the marketing of a perfume with her name-through companies domiciled in the british Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Malta, Panama, and Luxembourg.
The singer began to spend more than 183 days per year in Spain, when it is considered resident in fiscal terms, after initiating a relationship (UQU / ©GTRESONLINE)
in Addition, adds the complaint, the interpreter signed agreements with the tax authorities of Luxembourg, the so-called “Tax Ruling”, in order to achieve the conditions “specific and privileged of taxation”, when they resided in Spain and had the obligation to pay their taxes in this country.
According to the public ministry, the singer used that fabric “with the desire not to pay”, knowing that “living as usual in Spain, and that he remained in this country the greater part of the year, with the exception of their outputs to comply with their professional commitments and their leisure activities”.
The Prosecution argues that the singer resided in Spain
Despite the fact that the singer happened in those years more than 183 days in Spain, the threshold at which it is considered a resident for tax purposes, the defense of Shakira says that she lived in the Bahamas, where he has a property, so that it should not be taxed in Spain.
The justice holding to the contrary for several reasons: during the years investigated spent more than 183 days in Spain (243 in 2012, to 212 in 2013 and 244 in 2014); his stays abroad for concerts were “sporadic”; and he didn’t spend a day in the home of the Bahamas, reaffirming that for all purposes was a resident in Spain. It was not until 2015 when Shakira regularized his tax situation in the country.
he Avoided taxes with a “network corporate”
With these rules, the office of the Prosecutor understands that Shakira had to settle their taxes in Spain. Instead, the colombian has established a “network company” in order not to enter those amounts. The prosecutor has asked that imposed a bond of € 19.4 million, equivalent to the amount defrauded plus one-third.
For the Prosecution, once started the inspection and subsequent investigation to the singer, this “not provided nor documentation or information in relation to income and heritage,” alleging as a reason that he was not a resident in Spain, and has only provided “at the request of the Tax Agency”.
Shakira paid a few months ago for 20 million euros corresponding to the debts and interests that will be claimed for the tax year 2011, while in the last few days has paid other 14.5 million for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014.
