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By John O’Donnell and Robin Emmott
Germany, France and nine other euro zone countries will get the go-ahead on Tuesday to start work on a financial transactions tax, a measure likely to unsettle banks and trading houses but which will please voters and could raise much-needed revenue.
European Union finance ministers are expected to give their approval at a meeting in Brussels, allowing 11 states – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia – to start preparations for imposing a tax on all financial market transactions.