Houstonian Barbara B. Allbritton sued the United States for herself and the estate of her husband, self-made millionaire Joe L. Allbritton, on Jan. 30 in Federal Court over a $40 million art tax, according Courthouse News Service.

Joe Allbritton died in 2012 at 87, leaving behind a banking and media fortune that included fine art in the family's holding company, Perpetual Corp. The Albrittons acquired top-tier works by the likes of Van Gogh, Monet and Matisse.

The IRS maintains that "Perpetual Corp. distributed artwork and antiques worth $139 million to Joe Allbritton in 2005, and that Perpetual paid the Allbrittons $364,000 to insure the art and antiques from 2005 to 2008, payments that constitute 'taxable dividends,'" according to the complaint.

Barbara Allbritton paid the IRS $40.6 million "under protest," and now is suing for a full refund on the grounds that the art was never transferred to her husband from the holding company.