Business and nonbusiness income defined

Subsection 1 of North Dakota Century Code section 57-38.1-01 and article IV(1)(a) of North Dakota Century Code section 57-59-01 define "business income" as income arising from transactions and activity in the regular course of the taxpayer's trade or business and includes income from tangible and intangible property if the acquisition, management, and disposition of the property constitute integral parts of the taxpayer's regular trade or business operations. In essence, all income which arises from the conduct of trade or business operations of a taxpayer is business income. For purposes of administration of North Dakota Century Code chapter 57-38.1 and North Dakota Century Code chapter 57-59, the income of the taxpayer is business income unless clearly classifiable as nonbusiness income. Nonbusiness income means all income other than business income. The classification of income by the labels occasionally used, such as manufacturing income, compensation for services, sales income, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, gains, operating income, nonoperating income, and so forth, is of no aid in determining whether income is business or nonbusiness income. Income of any type or class and from any source is business income if it arises from transactions and activity occurring in the regular course of a trade or business. Accordingly, the critical element in determining whether income is "business income" or "nonbusiness income" is the identification of the transactions and activity which are the elements of a particular trade or business. In general, all transactions and activities of the taxpayer which are dependent upon or contribute to the operations of the taxpayer's economic enterprise as a whole constitute the taxpayer's trade or business and will be transactions and activity arising in the regular course of and will constitute integral parts of a trade or business. See sections 81-03-09-04 and 81-03-09-08 for further explanation of a trade or business.