Opening a new shop...need some feedback

I am thinking about opening a new shop in the area I live in. I was wondering about details regarding finances. Specifically, in my area, most artists are not considered employees but rather, contractors. 1. Is it pretty common for artist to pay the shop 50% for what they charge for a tattoo...for example, if the artist does a tattoo for $200, the artist keeps $100 and the shop keeps $100...is this pretty standard business for tattoo shops? 2. I am curious about tax implications. Do the majority of owners give out a 1099 to the artist at the end of the year, or is this done some other way so that the shop is not responsible for what income the artist reports? I've heard a lot of shops do not operate legally and a lot do not pay taxes....any comments on this? I really want my shop to be 100% legal! I would appreciate any feedback I can get!