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The hips don't lie, and apparently neither did Shakira's tax returns. The Colombian pop superstar has won her long-running legal battle with Spain's Tax Agency (AEAT), with the National Court ruling firmly in her favour and ordering the authorities to hand back €60 million they'd been holding onto for years, plus interest and legal costs.

 

The case centred on whether Shakira had lived in Spain for at least 183 days, the threshold that would have made her liable for tax as a resident.

 

The court's conclusion was that it simply "never happened" and "there was never any fraud," according to her legal team. In 2011, the year at the heart of the dispute, the Waka Waka singer was in the middle of a world tour, performing 120 concerts across 37 countries. She had no home in Spain, no children here and her business headquarters were nowhere near the country either.

 

The €60 million the Tax Agency had been sitting on was working capital from that world tour, money the authorities had withheld while the legal battle dragged on for the best part of a decade. The court has now ordered it all to be returned, with interest.

 

In an unusually strong move, the National Court also ordered the AEAT to pay Shakira's legal costs, a step judges only take when they find the tax administration has acted with recklessness and a complete lack of foundation.

 

"After more than eight years of enduring brutal public scrutiny, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and countless sleepless nights that ended up affecting my health and the well-being of my family, the National Court has finally set things right," Shakira said following the ruling.

 

She described being "treated as guilty" for almost a decade, with every step of the process "leaked, distorted and amplified," and said her name had been used "to send a threatening message to the rest of the taxpayers."

 

She dedicated the victory to ordinary people facing similar situations.

 

"My greatest wish is that this decision sets a precedent for the Tax Agency and serves the thousands of anonymous citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence from the brink of economic and emotional ruin. This victory is dedicated to them."

 

Image: Wikimedia Commons