Matthew Hamilton reports in Capitol Confidential that housing and real estate officials in New York are not optimistic about the tax bill currently moving through Congress. The National Association of Realtors guesses home values in New York could fall 10-to-15 percent if the bill becomes law. “As goes the housing market, so goes the economy,” said Lewis Dubuque, executive vice president of the New York State Home Builders Association. “When the housing bubble burst in 2008, the economy went in the tank, so it’s not a coincidence. We fear this is going to have the same detrimental effect in New York.” Currently, representatives in Washington, D.C. are negotiating differences between two tax proposals. The House bill caps the mortgage-interest deduction for new home loans at $500,000, while the Senate bill keeps the current $1-million level. But both bills eliminate deductions for state income tax payments, and cap the deduction for property taxes at $10,000, which is sure to cause a tax increase for many New Yorkers. “States like California and New York will still experience an exodus of taxpayers, draining local resources and impacting services,” New York Senator Schumer said on the Senate floor Dec. 5. Local Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook), says he will vote against the bill, even though he voted for it Dec. 4, in a procedural vote to move it to a conference committee. While he says he is going to vote against the bill, his comments to Capitol Confidential sound as if he likes it. “Most homeowners in the 19th District would see a tax decrease because they would take advantage of doubling the standard deduct and lower rates,” he said in an interview. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.