Yes, it is considered a wash sale if you buy replacement shares within a very close time frame before or after the disposal of the shares but there is no certainty that the ATO will act on it. And if they do act only, the nominal loss for CGT purposes will be denied. There is no penalty at all.
I have also read about franking credit and only needs to keep shares for 45 days. We have kept them way over 45 days so there is no problem. Also, only when the franking credit is over $5000, this rule will apply. Small amounts of franking credits are not subjected to this rule.
My take is that one can offer to sell back to Westpac and immediately buy the shares back. The worst case is to lose the tax offset for the nominal loss.
WBC Price at posting:
$21.90 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
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