To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a zero capital gains rate for certain new investments in specified areas made during a temporary period.

Summary: Urban Competitiveness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any capital gain from the sale or exchange of a stock, partnership, or business property interest invested in an enterprise zone area which had an average unemployment rate of not less than 150% of the national average rate during the preceding calendar year and which experienced a population loss of at least 20% during the 10-year period beginning in 2000.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Urban Competitiveness Act''.

SEC. 2. ZERO CAPITAL GAINS RATE FOR CERTAIN NEW INVESTMENTS IN 
              SPECIFIED AREAS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter Y of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new part:

         ``PART IV--CERTAIN NEW INVESTMENTS IN SPECIFIED AREAS

``Sec. 1400V. Zero capital gains rate for certain new investments.

``SEC. 1400V. ZERO CAPITAL GAINS RATE FOR CERTAIN NEW INVESTMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--Gross income does not include any qualified 
capital gain from the sale or exchange of a specified new investment 
held for more than 1 year.
    ``(b) Specified New Investment.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `specified new investment' 
        means--
                    ``(A) any qualified stock,
                    ``(B) any qualified partnership interest, and
                    ``(C) any qualified business property.
            ``(2) Qualified stock.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the term `qualified stock' means any 
                stock in a domestic corporation if--
                            ``(i) such stock is acquired by the 
                        taxpayer during the 1-year period beginning on 
                        the date of the enactment of this section, at 
                        its original issue (directly or through an 
                        underwriter) from the corporation solely in 
                        exchange for cash,
                            ``(ii) as of the time such stock was 
                        issued, such corporation was a specified area 
                        business (or, in the case of a new corporation, 
                        such corporation was being organized for 
                        purposes of being a specified area business), 
                        and
                            ``(iii) during substantially all of the 
                        taxpayer's holding period for such stock, such 
                        corporation qualified as a specified area 
                        business.
                    ``(B) Redemptions.--A rule similar to the rule of 
                section 1202(c)(3) shall apply for purposes of this 
                paragraph.
            ``(3) Qualified partnership interest.--The term `qualified 
        partnership interest' means any capital or profits interest in 
        a domestic partnership if--
                    ``(A) such interest is acquired by the taxpayer 
                during the 1-year period beginning on the date of the 
                enactment of this section, from the partnership solely 
                in exchange for cash,
                    ``(B) as of the time such interest was acquired, 
                such partnership was a specified area business (or, in 
                the case of a new partnership, such partnership was 
                being organized for purposes of being a specified area 
                business), and
                    ``(C) during substantially all of the taxpayer's 
                holding period for such interest, such partnership 
                qualified as a specified area business.
        A rule similar to the rule of paragraph (2)(B) shall apply for 
        purposes of this paragraph.
            ``(4) Qualified business property.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified business 
                property' means tangible property if--
                            ``(i) such property was acquired by the 
                        taxpayer by purchase (as defined in section 
                        179(d)(2)) during the 1-year period beginning 
                        on the date of the enactment of this section,
                            ``(ii) the original use of such property in 
                        the specified area commences with the taxpayer, 
                        and
                            ``(iii) during substantially all of the 
                        taxpayer's holding period for such property, 
                        substantially all of the use of such property 
                        was in a specified area business of the 
                        taxpayer.
                    ``(B) Special rule for substantial improvements.--
                The requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                subparagraph (A) shall be treated as satisfied with 
                respect to--
                            ``(i) property which is substantially 
                        improved by the taxpayer before the end of the 
                        period described in subparagraph (A)(i), and
                            ``(ii) any land on which such property is 
                        located.
                The determination of whether a property is 
                substantially improved shall be made under clause (ii) 
                of section 1400B(b)(4)(B), except that `the date of the 
                enactment of section 1400V' shall be substituted for 
                `December 31, 1997' in such clause.
    ``(c) Qualified Capital Gain.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, the term `qualified capital gain' means any gain 
        recognized on the sale or exchange of--
                    ``(A) a capital asset, or
                    ``(B) property used in the trade or business (as 
                defined in section 1231(b)).
            ``(2) Gain before enactment not qualified.--The term 
        `qualified capital gain' shall not include any gain 
        attributable to periods before the date of the enactment of 
        this section.
            ``(3) Certain rules to apply.--Rules similar to the rules 
        of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of section 1400B(e) shall apply 
        for purposes of this subsection.
    ``(d) Specified Area Business.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `specified area business' means any enterprise zone business (as 
defined in section 1397C), determined--
            ``(1) without regard to subsections (b)(6) and (c)(5) 
        thereof,
            ``(2) by substituting `80 percent' for `50 percent' in 
        subsections (b)(2) and (c)(1) thereof,
            ``(3) by treating each specified area as an empowerment 
        zone (and by treating no area other than a specified area as an 
        empowerment zone).
    ``(e) Specified Area.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`specified area' means any principal city of a metropolitan statistical 
area (as determined by the Office of Management and Budget)--
            ``(1) which had an average unemployment rate of not less 
        than 150 percent of the national average rate for the last 
        calendar year ending before the calendar year which includes 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, and
            ``(2) which experienced a population loss of at least 20 
        percent during the 10-year period beginning with calendar year 
        2000.
    ``(f) Certain Rules To Apply.--For purposes of this section, rules 
similar to the rules of paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (b), and 
subsections (f) and (g), of section 1400B shall apply; except that for 
such purposes section 1400B(g)(2) shall be applied by substituting 
`before the date of the enactment of section 1400V' for `before January 
1, 1998, or after December 31, 2014'.
    ``(g) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations 
as may be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section, 
including regulations to prevent the abuse of the purposes of this 
section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of parts for subchapter Y of 
chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following 
new item:

       ``Part IV. Certain New Investments in Specified Areas.''.

    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to property acquired after the date of the enactment of this Act.