Quito, Nov 30 (TIWN) Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso mandated into law a controversial tax reform bill aimed at raising more than $1.9 billion over the next two years to alleviate the country's economic crisis.

"The bill takes effect by mandate of the Constitution," the presidency's General Secretariat of Communication said in a statement, adding that enacting the law "means building a new path towards the country's recovery and generating jobs for the Ecuadorians who need it most."  The bill was submitted to the National Assembly (Congress) on Oct. 28, giving lawmakers a 30-day period ending on Sunday to pass or amend it. However, the legislature, where the opposition holds a majority, failed to approve the bill.  According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, 96.6 percent of the economically active population will not be affected by the new law, which mainly applies to large companies, and those earning more than 5,000 dollars a month or having more than 1 million dollars in equity.  The law is the first of three urgent reforms the Ecuadorian executive branch plans to submit to Congress to alleviate the country's economic crisis aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.