Shakira is in line to receive more than €55 million (about $64 million U.S.) after a Spanish court ruled in her favor in a long-running dispute over her 2011 taxes. But Spanish tax authorities have indicated they will appeal the decision, which found they had failed to prove that the singer was a Spanish tax resident for 2011. That means Shakira, who Forbes calculates was the 6th highest paid musician in 2025, with earnings of $105 million, will likely have to wait for her money.

Shakira’s Residency Claims

Spain’s tax agency argued that Shakira’s relationship with then-FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué helped tie her to Spain and that, as a result, she spent much of her time in the country.

In 2010, Shakira recorded the catchy “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. She met Piqué while filming the song's video (he retired from FC Barcelona in 2022). Shortly after, the pair publicly confirmed their relationship. Shakira gave birth to the couple’s first son, Milan, in Barcelona in 2013. At the time, news agencies reported that the baby “was born in Barcelona, Spain, where Shakira and soccer star Gerard Piqué currently reside.” Two years later, Piqué and Shakira announced the birth of another son, Sasha.

The children were largely raised in Barcelona, a fact Shakira appeared to acknowledge in a 2022 Instagram post where she wrote, “Me establecí en Barcelona para darle una estabilidad a mis hijos, la misma que ahora buscamos en otro rincón del mundo al lado de familia, amigos y el mar.” That translates loosely to, “I settled in Barcelona to give my children stability, the same we are now looking for in another corner of the world next to family, friends and the sea.”

Shakira’s tax residency was the central issue in the matter. Shakira had previously claimed tax residence in the tax-friendly Bahamas. According to Spanish authorities, she continued to claim Bahamian residency for tax purposes until 2015, when she changed her........

© Forbes