If tax on any real estate remains unpaid after the second Tuesday in December in the year it is due, the board of county commissioners, subject to the approval of the state tax commissioner, by reason of depreciation in the value of the property or for other valid cause, may compromise with the owner of the property by abating a portion of the delinquent taxes, with any penalty and interest on that portion, on payment of the remainder. The county commissioners may not compromise the tax after the county auditor has issued a tax deed to the county.
N.D.C.C. § 57-23-07