Elon Musk has indicated he will discuss a proposal with President Donald Trump to return savings from government spending cuts to US taxpayers.
Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has proposed using savings from federal spending cuts to provide a substantial one-time refund to all US taxpayers.
Since President Trump’s inauguration, DOGE has been conducting budget audits and implementing job cuts across federal agencies to reduce government spending by $2 trillion by 2026.
James Fishback, CEO and co-founder of Azoria, suggested on X that Musk consider distributing a portion of these savings as “DOGE dividends” to benefit millions of Americans.
This proposal suggests allocating 20% of the savings, approximately $400 billion, as tax refunds, with the remaining 80% used to reduce the national debt (currently over $36 trillion).
With an estimated 79 million tax-paying households, this could result in a roughly $5,000 refund per household.
Fishback argued that these “DOGE dividends” would compensate taxpayers for past government waste and incentivize reporting of further instances of fraud.
Fishback also believes this would rebuild public trust and improve “tax morale.”
Musk responded on X that he would discuss the plan with the president.
DOGE released its first savings report on Tuesday, claiming cost-cutting efforts have generated an estimated $55 billion in savings.
The department has been streamlining various federal agencies, eliminating waste, fraud, errors, and redundancies. Earlier this month, DOGE announced savings of over $1 billion from cutting over 100 contracts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.