Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre says he’s ‘perplexed’ by the Quebec government’s decision to reduce tax credits to the province’s multimedia and film industries by 20 per cent.

Coderre criticized the move Wednesday after the provincial government tabled its new budget.

Coderre told journalists that the tax credit reduction will not help his efforts to attract further investment in Montreal’s multimedia and film industries.

"If we're focusing on bringing more investment here... why do we lower [tax credits] by 20 per cent? I’m perplexed. They will have to explain this," he said.

Finance Minister Carlos Leitao said the tax credit and other targeted tax assistance measures for businesses are “costly and can create unfairness.”

“The government wants to gradually change these incentives so that they are general rather than specific in scope. These measures of general scope will be simpler to apply, thus maximizing their benefits and limiting the administrative burden on businesses,” Leitao said via press release.

The Ministry of Finance says the tax credit reductions and other measures would cut spending by $348 million by 2015-2016.

Leitao said the government's aim is to maintain a corporate tax system that compares “favourably” with those of its trading partners.