Ecuadorian President sends tax reform bill to Congress

Quito, Nov 29 (IANS) EDaniel Noboa, who took office last week as the youngest President of Ecuador, has a tax reform bill sent to the National Assembly that aims to create youth employment and address the country's economic crisis.

The National Assembly received the draft Organic Law of Economic Efficiency and Employment Creation, said the legislative body on X.

The legislature shared an accompanying letter in which Noboa listed the bill as an urgent economic matter, which grants the National Assembly 30 days to debate and approve it, reports Xinhua news agency.

The bill, which proposes creating tax incentives to spur job creation for youth and attract investment, was sent just hours after Noboa went on national television and warned the country's economy was in dire straits.

His administration's first economic measure to pull Ecuador out of the crisis was the tax reform bill designed to "guide" the country toward a better future, the 35-year-old President said.

Meanwhile, Economy and Finance Minister Juan Carlos Vega, who accompanied the president during his message to the nation, said a detailed review of economic figures showed "the situation is of an extremely impoverished country".