Kansas City, Mo. ? H&R Block Inc. is no stranger to making controversial offers to get tax clients through its doors.

The nation’s largest tax preparer has spent tens of millions of dollars settling lawsuits claiming its refund-anticipation loans take advantage of low-income taxpayers by charging high fees.

But there are lines the Kansas City, Mo.-based company says it will not cross.

On Wednesday, during the company’s quarterly conference call with analysts, chief executive officer Mark Ernst called on his top two competitors – Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. and Liberty Tax Service – to stop selling what he called “pay-stub” loans, unsecured cash payments made before a person has filed their taxes, saying they endangered the reputation of the entire industry.

“The economics of the product have more in common with payday lending than refund lending,” Ernst said, referring to loans criticized for sometimes creating spiraling levels of interest.

Jackson Hewitt officials didn’t return several phone calls for comment.

The company sells pay stub loans under the name “Money Now.” During its November-January quarter, when most Money Now products would have been sold, Jackson Hewitt said it sold 1.3 million “financial products,” compared with 999,000 during the same period a year ago. Revenues during that period increased 25 percent to $17.2 million.

John Hewitt, CEO of Virginia Beach, Va.-based Liberty, said he “detests” pay-stub loans but sold them on a trial basis in Texas and North Carolina this winter after seeing how many customers he was losing to Jackson Hewitt offices.

“It’s an inferior product and costs more,” Hewitt said.

He said if Jackson Hewitt continues to sell them next year, he won’t encourage his franchisees to also offer them – but won’t stop them either.