Go read up on the plan. Materials for the Manufactured goods are exempt from the sales tax. Buyer pays 9% on entire product once. Not even close to a VAT.
Perhaps you should read the (ever changing) plan. Only American made goods that go into products are exempted from the corp 9% tax, and none of the labor is exempted from that 9% corp tax. Then the product goes to the next business in the supply chain and the whole process is repeated, every step along the way that 9% corp tax is added at the end. THEN, when it finally gets to the retail customer a 9% sales tax is added to the entire mess.
That is what makes it a VAT.