Spain's National High Court has acquitted Colombian pop star Shakira of tax fraud and ordered the country's Treasury to return more than €55 million ($64 million/£48 million) in wrongly imposed fines, ending an eight-year battle over her 2011 residency status.
The ruling, contained in a court document obtained on 18 May by Billboard, found that tax officials failed to prove Shakira spent the minimum 183 days in Spain required to classify her as a tax resident. Under Spanish law, anyone who spends fewer than 183 days in the country during a calendar year is not liable for personal income tax there.
