If demand for tax preferred qualifying dividends were to shift partly over to REITs as this tax advantage is removed, that increased demand should be a tailwind for REIT share values.
The fundamental point is that, in the presence of inelastic supply curves, demand-side subsidies face a headwind of adverse price effects, while direct public provision gets a tailwind of favorable price effects.
"When they come close to the Sun, this ice melts - solar wind blows this material out into space, so you get a tail of matter coming off the comet, " explains O'Brien.