Real Estate Recovery Act of 1991

Real Estate Recovery Act of 1991 - Title I: Reduction in Capital Gains Tax for Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the individual and corporate capital gains rate from 34 percent to 15 percent. Reduces such tax to 7.5 percent for low- and middle-income taxpayers.

Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss.

Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the age requirement (55 years or older) and years-of-residency requirement for eligibility with respect to the one-time income tax exclusion of gain from the sale of a residence.

Title II: Credit for Purchase of New Principal Residence - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the purchase of a principal residence of five percent of the purchase price of such residence. Limits such credit to $2,000. Makes such credit applicable to new principal residences acquired after October 31, 1991, and before November 1, 1992.

Title III: Enterprise Zones - Subtitle A: Designation -Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation.

Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents.

Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation.

Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every two years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act.

Subtitle B: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned as do not exceed a specified amount. Phases out such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows a taxpayer a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer.

Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income.

Excludes enterprise zone capital gains from income computation of alternative minimum taxes.

Subtitle C: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones.

Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged.

Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety.

Subtitle D: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones.

Subtitle E: Repeal of Title VII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 - Repeals title VII (enterprise zone development) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987.

Title IV: Appraisal Requirements and RTC and FDIC Inventory Property - Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to extend until July 1, 1992, the requirement for State certified or licensed appraisers in connection with federally-related appraisals.

Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to annually study the real estate market conditions within local market areas to determine whether the sale of inventory property by the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is affecting or will affect the value of real estate within such areas. Directs the RTC and FDIC, upon a positive determination by the Secretary, to withhold from sale or other disposition any inventory properties within the affected market areas.

Title V: Tax-Free Withdrawals From Individual Retirement Accounts for First Home Purchases - Allows penalty-free distributions from individual retirement accounts of up to 25 percent of the account limit for first-time homebuyers.

Title VI: Treatment of Rental Property Operations Under Passive Loss Rules - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities.

Title VII: Production Investment Incentive - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business expense deduction for up to $250,000 (currently, $10,000) of depreciable business assets if property is used as an integral part of manufacturing, production, or extraction. Reduces such allowance by the amount by which the cost of such property exceeds $1,000,000 (currently, $200,000) for a taxable year.

Excludes such depreciation deduction from the alternative minimum tax.

Title VIII: Freeze on Banks' Total Capital Standard - Declares that the minimum amount of total capital which any insured depository institution may be required to maintain shall not exceed 7.25 percent of the total assets of such institutions.

Title IX: Resolution Trust Corporation Refinancing - Resolution Trust Corporation Refinancing Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to provide additional funding to the RTC to complete the resolution of failed thrifts. Increases the RTC working capital borrowing limit.

Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to extend until September 30, 1993, the period during which the Office of Thrift Supervision must appoint the RTC as conservator or receiver of failed thrifts.

Title X: Restructuring of the Oversight Board and the Resolution Trust Corporation - Resolution Trust Corporation Restructuring Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to limit the accountability of the Oversight Board to the performance of its duties under such Act. Revises the composition of the Board. Authorizes the RTC to develop and establish overall goals and policies and authorizes the Board to review and require modification of such goals and policies.

Provides for the management of the RTC by its Board of Directors instead of the FDIC.

Revises the composition of the RTC Board of Directors.

Revises RTC personnel provisions with respect to the use of FDIC employees.

Provides for the appointment of a chief executive officer to the RTC by the Oversight Board.

Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 provide for the rights of FDIC employees assigned to the RTC at the time of its termination.

Authorizes the Oversight Board to remove the RTC Board of Directors for cause and to appoint a new Board of Directors.

Title XI: Clarification of Treatment of Certain FSLIC Financial Assistance - Requires that, except in specified instances, FSLIC assistance be taken into account when determining losses or bad debts of savings and loans institutions (thus denying income tax deductions for losses or bad debts to the extent such assistance has compensated for them). Describes FSLIC assistance as money or property provided to a domestic building and loan association by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the FSLIC Resolution Fund, or the Resolution Trust Corporation.