Hoping to tackle environmental problems facing Quito, the municipal government here is calling on city residents and Ecuadorians living elsewhere in the country to earmark income-tax payments for high-priority green projects in the nation’s capital. Under a bill passed last year in the National Congress, businesses and individuals nationwide may direct up to 25% of their annual income tax payments to a corporation created to carry out the Quito environmental projects. City officials hosted a Jan. 18 kick-off event in which 400 local leaders ranging from business executives to politicians promised to send a quarter of their tax payments to the entity, called Life for Quito Corporation. The city hopes in the short term to raise $20 million a year—and ultimately... [Log in to read more]