Kanye West‘s Sunday Service Choir will no longer be classified as a charity after they failed to file tax returns on time.
The Chicago rap mogul has not filed a tax return to the IRS for Sunday Service for three years, with the government now stripping the organization of its charity status.
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According to the IRS’ website, Sunday Service’s religious tax exemption status was revoked on May 15.
Organizations that are classified as “religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, or prevention of cruelty to children or animals organizations” do not have to pay tax on their income.
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Kanyee established the Sunday Service Choir in 2019, with the group performing weekly for much of the year and releasing the album Jesus Is Born that December.
The choir was made up of hundreds of singers and instrumentalists including frequent collaborator Tony Williams, Ant Clemons and producer Ray Romulus.
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The Sunday Service performances featured an array of special guests including the Clipse, DMX, Chance The Rapper and Justin Bieber, as well as controversial rock star Marilyn Manson who worked with West on 2021’s Donda.
As with most recent Kanye projects, the Sunday Service Choir also brought the Yeezy boss legal trouble as a lawsuit was filed in 2021 accusing him of breaking labor laws and not paying personnel.
Almost 1,000 members of the choir joined together to sue West for underpaying performers and mistreating them at work.
One singer, Michael Pearson, reportedly said in court documents that he was paid a flat rate of $250 “regardless of the number of hours worked” and had no meals or restroom breaks and was “forced to stand or sit on the ground” all weekend during one performance.
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Additionally, the suit alleges that Kanye was in breach of numerous California labor laws while hosting his Hollywood opera event Nebuchadnezzar in 2019. Numerous Sunday Service choir members and staff alleged they weren’t paid on time or at all, denied overtime, meal and bathroom breaks.
Earlier this year, Kanye settled the suit for $1.35 million, far less than the $10 million the plaintiffs were originally seeking.
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The figure was agreed after an extensive mediation process between teams of lawyers that lasted years.
