“If each Spaniard gave a peseta, but not to me, where should they give it, perhaps I would get out of this debt”: that was the magic formula that Lola Flores, the great Spanish singer, found as a solution to her problems with the Ministry of Treasury for tax evasion in Spain between 1982 and 1985.
(In context: Shakira would go to trial in Spain for alleged tax fraud)
The town did not respond to him, of course, but his request shows how desperate he was for what he owed to the Spanish treasury.
He has not been the only famous person in the country with this type of problem, although he may be the first to make his viacrucis public.
In fact, the names of tax evaders are now no secret. Since December 2015, the Tax Agency has published the list of taxpayers who owe it more than one million euros.
There are, among others, the former vice president Rodrigo Rato, the banker Mario Conde, the former president of Real Madrid Lorenzo Sanz and the former motorcycling champion Alfonso Sito Pon. There are 315 citizens who accumulate nearly 700 million euros in defaults.
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The queue for famous people in tax trouble is long. The closest to Colombia is Shakira. The singer will be tried accused of defrauding the equivalent of about 15 million dollars in taxes between 2012 and 2014, for which the Prosecutor’s Office asks for eight years and two months in prison and a fine of about 25 million dollars.
A judge agreed on Tuesday to open the oral trial of the artist so that she can be tried for six crimes against the Treasury at the Barcelona Court, where she lived when she was a partner of soccer player Gerard Piqué.
Long list of investigated
However, soccer players Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves, Xabi Alonso and Neymar also have or have had problems with the Treasury; tennis players Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Rafael Nadal; the singer and television presenter Bertín Osborne; the singers Miguel Bose and Ana Torroja (Meccano); chef Sergi Arola; the actors Imanol Arias and Ana Duato (Tell me how it happened); the actresses Loles León (one of the “Almodovar girls”), Paz Vega and Belén Rueda (out to sea), among many others.
(You may be interested: 5 keys to the process that has Shakira before a judge in Spain)
It cost the journalist Maxim Huerta the Ministry of Culture and Sports, since he had to resign when it became known that he would have defrauded about 218,000 euros through a company.
They have all had to go through a long road of trials, negotiations, pacts, fines and media whirlwinds.
lead regimen
Spain is characterized by applying a severe regime to those who evade taxes. In addition to astronomical fines and interest charges, tax fraud is punishable by prison sentences of between one and five years.
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In the well-known case of Messi, for example, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison for defrauding 4.1 million euros by not having paid in Spain the income corresponding to image rights during 2007, 2008 and 2009. Finally, he commuted prison sentence for a fine of 252,000 euros.
The Tax Agency -equivalent to the Dian in Colombia- has a team of two thousand inspectors dedicated to sniffing out tax evasion.
Among them is inspector Susana C., who retraced Shakira’s steps between 2011 and 2014 through stores, beauty centers, hotels, studios, trips, concerts…
He rebuilt his businesses, talked to people close to him, and tracked credit card payments. Now the singer is accused of six fiscal crimes, since the Prosecutor’s Office claims that she did not pay 14.5 million euros between 2012 and 2014 (for 2011 she paid 24 million regularization).
Avoiding the payment of taxes, in addition to generating sanctions, is aggravated when figureheads are used, when the amount evaded is significantly large and when there is a structure created for that purpose.
(You may be interested in: The millionaire purchases of the friend of King Juan Carlos of Spain)
key to the state
The importance of tax in Spain This is because it represents more than 20% of the total income of the State in the case of individuals and a little more than 7% in that of companies.
In this country, unlike what happens in Colombia, fiscal policy is in the hands of the Ministry of Finance, while economic policy is the task of the Ministry of Economy.
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It is estimated that there are more than 140,000 million euros, belonging to Spaniards, in tax havens. They represent about 12% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The average tax payment of a Spaniard is around 40% of income. It is a high tax rate, which also explains tax evasion, despite the fact that the Spanish feel that their money is well used by the State.
JUANITA SAMPER OSPINA
TIME CORRESPONDENT
MADRID
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