The fate of a 7% property tax cut that would save New York City property owners about $1 billion next year could hinge on Mayor Bloomberg’s testimony before state lawmakers in Albany this morning.

To squeeze more money out of the state, Mr. Bloomberg is expected to place responsibility for the tax cut on the shoulders of Governor Spitzer and the Legislature, to compel them to boost funds flowing from Albany to the city.

Mr. Spitzer has proposed sending less money to the city next year than city officials had expected. When the mayor announced that he would extend the one-time 7% property tax cut for a second year, he warned that it could disappear if the city didn’t receive financial support from the state.

Mr. Spitzer is calling for cuts in a revenue sharing program, so New York City would receive about $165 million less in expected state aid, and he has proposed to give the city $100 million less than expected in education funding.

The research director at the Citizens Budget Commission, Charles Brecher, said he suspects Mr. Bloomberg will use the prospect of a property tax increase to pressure lawmakers to restore the expected money.

It’s “a long-standing strategy that between January and April, a mayor tries to set up the terrible things that will happen in the financial plan if the Legislature doesn’t provide some amount of aid,” Mr. Brecher said. “His threat is that he’s not going to cut things, but that he is going to have to re-impose this tax.”

Mr. Bloomberg also has said that the tax cut is contingent upon the health of the economy, assistance from the federal government, and cooperation from municipal unions.

A Democratic assemblyman who is running for city comptroller, James Brennan, said that it wouldn’t be right for Mr. Bloomberg to argue that the state is responsible for coming up with enough money to support the property tax cut.

“Economic problems are simultaneously affecting both governments,” he said. “The city government forecast a deteriorating economy at the time it adopted that property tax cut, so to blame the state for providing insufficient funds to sustain it, I don’t think is fair.”

When testifying on the governor’s budget today before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Mr. Bloomberg also is expected to focus on Mr. Spitzer’s proposal to collect more than $1.1 billion through a series of fees and tax changes, which business leaders have warned could threaten the economy and dissuade businesses from locating in New York.

A spokesman for the mayor, Stuart Loeser, yesterday declined to discuss Mr. Bloomberg’s expected testimony.

Last year, Mr. Bloomberg delivered harsh criticism when assessing Mr. Spitzer’s budget proposal, saying it would blow “an enormous hole” in the city’s budget.

He has argued in the past that the city carries the state economy on its shoulders and should therefore receive more money from the state. Last week, he revisited this theme yet again, including a chart in his financial plan summary illustrating that the city pays $11.1 billion more in state taxes than it receives in funding.

“New York City needs to be treated fairly by New York State. We need to get back our fair share of New York State tax revenues,” the financial plan summary states. “Our budget and financial plan includes the funding commitments that New York State made to the City last year, including the commitments to education capital and revenue sharing.”

In a sign that Mr. Bloomberg may be preparing for a fight with the state over the money, he said on his Friday radio show that he has “less sympathy for the state than maybe they’d like me to have.”

“My argument is that we put our own house in order,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “To some extent,” he added, taking a dig at Mr. Spitzer, “They should do it too.”

Messrs. Bloomberg and Spitzer live around the corner from each other on the Upper East Side and share a largely cordial relationship in public. When Mr. Spitzer’s approval ratings sank last year amid allegations he directed state police to monitor the movements of the state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, he took cover beside Mr. Bloomberg, appearing with him at local events.

The mayor also praised Mr. Spitzer when denying leaks from Senate Republicans that Mr. Bloomberg would run for governor, saying Mr. Spitzer was doing a good job. Mr. Bloomberg has also, however, praised a Democrat who may challenge Mr. Spitzer for the governor’s job, the attorney general, Andrew Cuomo.

The chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee, David Weprin, who will also testify in Albany today on the budget, said he is optimistic at least some of the slashed funds would be restored.

“Usually there is some restoration in the cuts by the legislature,” he said. “It’s not unusual that the preliminary budget doesn’t look anything like the final budget.”