The Gold Card is a residency permit, so unless rules change again Gold Card holders wouldn’t need visas so wouldn’t have to pay the new fee.

And I don’t think it’s that we want only rich tourists. It’s that we are treating all foreigners as criminals. If you think of it more like “every foreigner belongs in jail, but you can pay bail to get out” it makes more sense. You only get your “bail” refunded if you “behave”…