Ann: Dividend/Distribution - PLS, page-369

Quote from Aston Accountants website ..........

"The 45 day rule (sometimes called dividend stripping) requires shareholders to have held the shares ‘at risk’ for at least 45 days (plus the purchase day and sale day) in order to be eligible to claim franking credits in their tax returns. If you have held your share for less than 45 days then you cannot claim the franking credits in the dividends you have received. The rule is designed to prevent franking credits to be claimed by share traders who hold shares for a short period of time and then sell as soon as they qualify for a dividend. The rule applies to all individual taxpayers, entities and SMSF."

It excludes the 'I'll buy in now to get the divi' brigade from taking last minute advantage.

I can think of a number of other ways (eg maybe holding shares for a minimum period of time before re-sale) that could benefit the regular retail investor and help make 'the level playing field' more level.

Call me old fashioned, but wasn't the stock market supposed to be a place for long-term investment for the benefit of company growth and investor gain?

GLTAH