It is not a VAT. It is a business tax to replace the corporate and FICA taxes.
This is how Cruz's VAT will work according to Forbes:
Consider a loaf of bread. Say the farmer sells the wheat to a miller for 25 cents. Assuming the farmer has no deductible expenses, the initial tax would be 4 cents (16 percent of her 25 cents of income). The miller grinds the wheat and sells flour to a baker for a dollar. His value added is 75 cents, which is subject to 12 cents of business flat tax. The baker sells the loaf of bread for $2 and remits another 16 cents of tax on her $1 of value-added. The total tax adds up to 32 cents, or 16 percent of the final sale price.
What about that is not true about Cruz's plan?