According to state lien notices sent to Yeezy Apparel in recent years, the African-American rapper turned business mogul Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, owes more than $600,000 in unpaid taxes.
The series of state tax lien notices — claims made on a person’s assets in response to unpaid taxes or some other debt — from the past two years showed that Ye’s apparel business, Yeezy, owes over $600,000 in unpaid tax debt.
Leading brands such as German multinational software behemoth Adidas, U.S. clothing retail company Gap, and Balenciaga severed ties with Ye’s brand due to series of offensive and antisemitic comments he made in October.
The three separate notice letters sent by the state of California revealed that Ye owed $13,999 in unpaid taxes in July 2021, as well as $279,085 and $321,591 in unpaid taxes, including fees and penalties, in February and September, respectively.
Ye’s net worth has dropped from $2 billion to $400.1 million in the aftermath of losing lucrative partnerships with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga in just one month.
Left with no other partnership to fall back on in the retail industry, Ye’s $400-million fortune is made up of real estate, cash, a music catalog, and a five-percent stake in his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company, Skims.
The multi-industry creative announced plans to sell a variety of hoodies designed by his apparel brand, the Yeezy brand, in collaboration with Balenciaga, Adidas, and Gap for $20 as part of his move to forge ahead in his business ventures.
On Monday, Ye painted his own picture of the financial turmoil he claims to be experiencing, telling podcast host Tim Pool that four of his bank accounts had been frozen on a $75-million hold, and that his accountants had told him that morning that he owed $50 million in taxes.
