(MONEY Magazine) – Last June, Rep. Bill Archer (R-Texas), head of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, vowed to give "David the tax payer an arsenal of powerful slingshots to use against Goliath the IRS." So does the recently enacted Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 deliver on his promise? Yes and no. A hit in some respects, the bill missed the mark in others.

Hit: The change that could have the broadest impact has nothing to do with reforming the IRS. In a move that will cut investors' paperwork as well as their tax bill, Congress changed the way capital-gains taxes are figured. Now you have to hold a stock or bond for more than 12 months, not 18 months, to qualify for the 20% capital-gains tax rate.

Hit: The new law gives you beefed-up protections against the financial sins of a former loved one. First, the law makes it somewhat easier for a taxpayer (most often a woman) who was clueless about her spouse's tax indiscretions to qualify for "innocent spouse" relief. If audited, you're now less likely to owe back taxes on mistakes your spouse made on a joint tax return; prior rules absolved you only if, among other criteria, the error was deliberate or the result of negligence.

In addition, the new law lets you in effect revise old tax returns if you're divorced, legally separated or have been living apart from your spouse for at least a year. You can limit your liability for unpaid taxes to what's owed on faulty deductions or credits that are attributable to your income or share of jointly owned assets, essentially modifying your joint status on past returns.

Miss: The most hyped provision of the new law--the promise that taxpayers will be presumed innocent until proved guilty by the IRS--is arguably the most hollow. Why? The principle applies only if your fight goes all the way to trial, typically in Tax Court--which happened in just 1,200 or so cases last year. Until then, you're still obligated to provide evidence to support deductions in an audit, for example, to keep records and to fully cooperate with IRS requests for meetings and information.

--Kelly Smith