John Howard warns on negative gearing changes

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has sought and been given advice from former Prime Minister John Howard on tax reform.

The former prime minister warned the Coalition to be careful about making any changes to negative gearing.

Mr Howard told Sky News negative gearing had been around "forever" and the Coalition should be careful about making any changes.

"There are a lot of modest-income people who accumulate some money and then negatively gear a property, particularly [those] who don't want to invest in the share market," Mr Howard said.

Mr Turnbull said he had been discussing the issue with Mr Howard.

"Look, it's very important to treat any changes to the tax system very carefully, indeed I had a long chat with John about negative gearing and other aspects of tax only yesterday, in fact — a long chat," he said.

The Prime Minister said Mr Howard had been "a great source of advice".

"The last time the abolition of negative gearing was tried by the Labor Party ... it was quickly reversed because of its negative impact on the housing and in particular the rental market," he said.

"Howard's advice [to] look at these things carefully — absolutely, that's exactly what I'm doing."

Some Coalition backbenchers worry any changes will expose the Government, given the Prime Minister's criticism of Labor's negative gearing plan.

The Government will unveil its tax package in the lead-up to the next budget.