cantonal tax rate on a married resident, with two children, of Tavannes making 150,000 CHF was 13.1%, while an unmarried resident's rate was 19.2%. For comparison, the rate for the entire canton in the same year, was 14.2% and 22.0%, while the nationwide rate was 12.3% and 21.1% respectively. In 2009 there were a total of 1,503 tax payers in the municipality. Of that total, 407 made over 75,000 CHF per year. There were 18 people who made between 15,000 and 20,000 per year. The greatest number of workers, 410, made between 50,000 and 75,000 CHF per year. The average income of the over 75,000 CHF group in Tavannes was 119,231 CHF, while the average across all of Switzerland was 130,478 CHF. In 2011 a total of 8.5% of the population received direct financial assistance from the government. Religion As of the , 1,369 or 40.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 1,124 or 33.3% were Roman Catholic. Of the rest of the population, there were 13 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.39% of the population), there was one individual who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 298 individuals (or about 8.83% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 119 (or about 3.53% of the population) who were Islamic. There were five individuals who were Buddhist and six individuals who belonged to another church. 319 (or about 9.46% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 119 individuals (or about 3.53% of the population) did not answer the question. Education In Tavannes about 49.6% of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 11.9% have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 247 who had completed some form of tertiary schooling listed in the census, 59.9% were Swiss men, 27.9% were Swiss women, 8.9% were non-Swiss men and 3.2% were non-Swiss women. The canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory kindergarten, followed by six years of primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower secondary school, where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower secondary, students may attend additional schooling, or they may enter an apprenticeship. During the 2011-12 school year, there were a total of 455 students attending classes in Tavannes. There were four kindergarten classes, with a total